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7 


HISTORY 


OF 


DISCOVERY    A^TD   EXPLORATION 


THE 


COASTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


J.  O.    KOIIT^,  I'll.   l\ 


APPENDIX   No.  19. 

HISTORY  OF  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION  ON  THE  COASTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

By  .T.  Gr.   KOHL,   Ph.    D. 

• 

PREFATORY   NOTE. 

The  historical  accounts  here  given  of  discovery  and  exploration  on  the  coasts  of  the  United 
States  were  prepared  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Kohl,  a  geographer  of  distinction,  at  the  instance  of  Prof.  A. 
D.  Bache,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey  at  the  time  (1854)  of  Dr.  Kohl's  visit  to  this 
country.  But  a  few  years  had  then  elapsed  since  the  beginning  of  the  survey  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  the  want  of  an  authoritative  and  connected  account  of  early  exploration  upon  that  coast 
was  greatly  felt.  Trustworthy  data  were  needed  to  establish  the  origin  of  geographical  names, 
to  decide  disputed  points  of  orthography,  to  identify  localities-  named  by  early  explorers,  and  to 
show  the  condition  of  discovery  and  fix  the  limit  of  geographical  knowledge  at  various  periods. 

The  work  undertaken  by  Dr.  Kohl  included,  at  the  request  of  Professor  Bache,  in  addition  to 
the  historical  account,  a  general  map  illustrating  it,  a  collection  of  maps  showing  the  range  and 
limits  appertaining  to  each  discoverer  and  explorer,  a  list  of  names  of  bays,  capes,  harbors,  &c., 
with  critical  remaiks,  and  a  catalogue  of  books,  maps,  manuscripts,  &c.,  relative  to  discoveries. 

In  so  satisfactory  a  manuenwas  this  work  performed  for  the  Pacific  coast  that  Dr.  Kohl  was 
asked  to  undertake  a  similar  work  for  the  coast  of  the 'Atlantic  and  G-ulf  of  Mexico.  Upon  its 
completion  the  entire  work  was  deposited  for  reference  in  the  archives  of  the  Survey.  Means  for  its 
publication,  as  a  whole,  not  having  been  available,  it  has  now  been  deemed  desirable  to  publish 
the  historical  portions  in  the  form  of  an  appendix  to  this  report.  To  each  memoir  is  appended  a  list 
of  the  collection  of  maps.  Some  of  these  maps  are  copied  from  originals,  others  from  old  manu 
scripts  or  rare  prints,  and  those  of  more  modern  origin  are  of  interest  as  links  in  the  chain  of  his 
torical  connection. 

ABSTRACT  OF   CONTENTS. 

History  of  discovery  and  exploration  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  State*. 

The  Northmen  (982  to  1,347). — Settlement  in  Gunbiorn's  Land  or  Greenland  in  982.  Explorations  from  Greenland 
to  the  southwest  in  the  years  1000  and  1001.  Also  between  1002  and  1007,  followed  by  a  settlement  in  Vinland— 
supposed  to  be  on  Narragansett  Bay.  Decline  of  the  Scandinavian  colonies  in  Greenland ;  last  expedition  to  eastern 
coast  of  North  America  in  1347. 

Sebastian  Calot  (1497). — Voyage  to  Newfoundland,  and  thence  southwardly— supposed  as  far  as  the  entrance  to 
Delaware  Bay.  Delineation  of  eastern  coast  of  North  America  according  to  Cabot  on  map  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa  in  the 
year  1500. 

Ponce  de  Leon  (1512). — Expedition  from  Porto  Rico  to  the  coast  of  Florida.  Other  explorers  between  1512  and 
1519. 

L/n-as  I'nxguez  de  Aylloii  (15'^0-'25). — Voyages  to  the  North  American  coast;  explorations  near  Saint  Helena 
Sound  and  ;\  river  to  the  south — supposed  the  Savannah  River.  Finds  that  Florida  is  a  peninsula. 

John  de  Vtrrazano  (1524). — Expedition  from  Dieppe  under  the  auspices  of  Francis  I,  of  France.  Voyage  along  the 
North  American  coast  from  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Fear,  touching  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  ;  thence  to  the  eastward, 

entering  Narragansett  Bay,  and  thence  to  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia. 

495 


496  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

Eileran  Gomez  (1525). — Expedition  from  Coruiina  to  Newfoundland,  and  thence  southward  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  continent.  Names  given  to  several  localities. 

English  expedition  (1527).— rVoy age  under  the  auspices  of  Henry  VIII,  of  England,  towards  the  coasts  of  Labrador, 
Cape  Breton,  and  New  England. 

Spanish  expeditions,  Sarraez  and  DC  Soto  (1528-'43). — Voyages  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  explorations  in  Florida, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi. 

Capt.  Jean  liibant,  Capt.  Rend  de  Laudovniere  (1562-'65). — Expeditions  from  Dieppe  and  Havre  to  the  coasts  of 
Florida,  Georgia,  and  South  Carolina. 

Sir  John  Hawkins  (1565). — Visit  to  the  coast  of  Florida  and  anchorage  at  the  mouth  of  Saint  John's  River. 
Voyage  thence  to  the  northeast. 

Don  Pedro  Afenendez  (ir;65-'74).— Expedition  of  discovery  and  of  occupation  to  Florida;  establishment  of  a  colony 
at  Saint  Augustine;  circumnavigation  of  the  peninsula;  voyage  to  Chesapeake  Bay. 

Sir  Walter  Jialeiyh  (1584-'86). — Explorations  and  settlements  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  under  the  auspices 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  of  England. 

Capt.  John  White  (1587-'90). — Voyages  to  and  settlement  at  Koanoke  Island. 

Bartholomew  Goanold  (1602). — Expedition  from  Falmouth,  England.  Explorations  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Cod 
and  Martha's  Vineyard. 

Martin  /'riny  (1603). — Voyage  from  Bristol,  England,  to  the  coast  of  New  England  to  the  north  of  Cape  Cod. 

Bartholomew  Gilbert  (1603). — Lands  near  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  but  is  killed  by  the  Indians,  mid 
expedition  fails. 

Sieur  de  Monts  and  Champlain  (1605). — Expedition  from  Havre,  under  the  auspices  of  Henry  IV,  of  France. 
Explorations  on  the  coasts  of  Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotia,  Maine,  and  Massachnetts. 

Capt.  George  Weymouth  (1605). — Voyage  from  an  English  sea-port  to  the  New  England  coast.  Exploration  of 
Penobscot  Bay. 

Capt.  Christopher  jWtrjx/rf  (1GO<>).—  Expedition  fitted  out  by  the  London  Con.pany  for  exploiation  and  settlement 
in  "South  Virginia."  Colony  established  at  Jamestown,  Va. 

Capt.  John  Smith  (160f). — Examinations  of  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  to  the  head  of  the  bay  and  of  the  rivers 
tributary  to  it. 

Capt.  Gtorge  Popham  and  Capt.  Kaltiyn  Gilbert  (1607). — Voyage  from  Plymouth,  England,  and  settlement  attempted 
at  Cape  Small  Point,  coast  of  Maine. 

Capt.  Samuel  Jrgall  (1613). — Breaks  np  the  French  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  from  Mount  Desert  Island 
to  the  eastward. 

Capt.  John  Smith  (1614). — Publishes  a  map  of  Chesapeake  Bay;  explores  the  coast  of  Maine  and  .compiles  and 
publishes  a  map  and  description  of  that  coast;  also  a  narrative  and  map  of  New  England. 

Capt.  Thomas  Dermer,  Chrhtopltr  Lcrett  (1618-'23). — Voyages  to  the  coast  of  Maine  and  thence  southward; 
examinations  in  Long  Island  Sound  and  in  Chesapeake  Bay. 

Henry  Hudson  (1009). — Expedition  from  Amsterdam  under  the  auspices  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company. 
Examinations  in  Delaware  Bay  and  in  the  Hudsou  River. 

Cornelius  Jacobs  May  (16M-'23).— Explorations  between  Cape  Cod  and  Delaware  Bay.  Founds  the  first  Dutch 
colonies  on  the  Hudson  and  Delaware  Rivers. 

David  Pietersz  de  Fries  (1632). — Expedition  from  the  Texel  to  Delaware  Bay ;  exploration  of  the  low  shore  of  the. 
Delaware  peninsula,  and  examination  of  the  coast  between  Delaware  Bay  and  the  New  York  entrance. 

Jirief  notice  of  expeditions  of  the  seventeenth  lentury,' concluding  icith  reference  to  a  map  showing  the  outlines  of  the 
Atlantic  coast,  published  by  Laet,  the  Dutch  cosmographer,  in  the  year  1624. 

THE  NORTHMEN. 

In  the  early  history  of  Scandinavia  it  is  known  that  maritime  enterprise  was  a  marked 
characteristic  of  the  inhabitants.  At  the  close  of  the  ninth  century  some  Northmen  had  passed 
southward  through  Italy  and  Sicily,  and  after  leaving  colonies  passed  across  the  Mediterranean  to 
the  coast  of  Africa.  They  founded  settlements  in  France,  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Iceland,  and 
on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  and  it  is  probable  that  one  early  northern  adventurer  visited  the 
eastern  coast  of  North  America.  Doubtless  many  fables  were  included  in  the  narratives  of  their 
early  navigation,  but  our  present  concern  is  with  the  facts  which  have  led  historians  to  regard 
Scandinavia  as  the  "storehouse  of  nations." 

The  first  Scandinavian  adventurer  who  lauded  on  the  shores  of  Iceland  was  a  certain  Naddod, 
in  the  year  801.  Hiorleif,  Ingulf,  and  other  Northmen  followed  in  the  year  874,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  century  the  island  was  coven  d  with  flourishing  settlements.  Frequent  voyages  were  made 
from  thence  to  Norway,  to  Ireland,  and  to  England.  In  the  year  980  one  of  these  Icelandic  navi 
gators,  Guubiorn,  letnrnecl  to  his  country,  and  stated  that  he  had  been  driven  out  of  his  course 
so  far  westward  as  to  have  in  view  a  great  unknown  land.  When  this  report  was  known,  Eirek, 
who  had  been  an  outlaw  in  Iceland,  sailed  in  the  year  982  westward  to  search  for  Ounbiorn's  Land. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  STJKVEY.  497 

He  wintered  there,  returned  to  Iceland  and  Norway,  and  praised  the  newly  discovered  land  so 
highly  that  in  subsequent  years  many  Icelanders  and  Northmen  went  over  to  Greenland  (as 
Gunbiorn's  Land  was  soon  called),  and  there  formed  a  community.  One  of  the  settlers  was  a 
certain  Heriulf,  who  had  left  a  son  named  Biarni  at  home.  The  son  set  out  to  follow  his  father, 
but  was  driven  by  stormy  weather  over  to  another  unknown  country,  along  which  he  coasted  for 
some  time.  Finally  he  turned,  reached  Greenland,  and  there  his  report  concerning  the  new 
western  country  was  eagerly  listened  to,  and  especially  by  Leif,  the  son  of  Eirek,  the  first  settler 
in  Greenland.  Lief  bought  the  ship  of  Biarni,  and  with  it  sailed  towards  the  southwest.  He 
found  a  great  rocky  country,  which  he  named  Helluland,  i.  e.,  the  stony  country.  This  was  probably 
Newfoundland. 

Leif,  sailing  farther  to  the  southward  and  westward,  again  made  the  coast,  and  named  it 
M«rkl<»ift  [the  country  of  the  woods],  and  it  is  supposed  to  be  Nova  Scotia.  Keeping  the  same 
general  course,  the  vessel  passed  around  a  far  projecting  peninsula  which  was  named  KiUarnas, 
i.  e.,  Ship's  Nose.  This  was  probably  Cape  Cod,  and  the  convenient  bay  in  which  he  anchored  is 
judged  to  be  Narragansett  Bay.  Leif  and  his  men  made  on  the  shore  of  this  bay  a  small  settle 
ment,  called  Leif's  budir,  i.  e.,  Leif's  cottages.  .  They  explored  the  vicinity,  and  finding  grapes  in 
abundance  they  applied  the  name  Vinland.  In  the  following  year,  1001,  Leif  and  his  men  filled 
their  ship  with  firewood,  and  returned  to  Greenland. 

Other  expeditions  followed.  One  in  the  year  1002  was  under  the  command  of  Thorwald,  a 
brother  of  Eirek  ;  another  in  1005  was  conducted  by  Thorstein  ;  and  in  1007  a  third  set  out  under 
Thorfinu  Carlsefn.  The  last  named  adventurer  intended  to  make  a  permanent  settlement  in 
Viuland.  He  therefore  brought  over  ICO  men.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Gudrid,  and 
their  son,  Suorri  Thornnsou,  was  born  in  Vinland.  Gudrid  subsequently  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome,  and  perhaps  in  that  way  some  knowledge  of  the  western  country  was  spread  in  Italy. 

The  Scandinavian  colonies  of  Greenland  remained  for  some  years  in  connection  with  Iceland, 
attracted  settlers  from  Europe,  flourished,  and  finally  covered  a  tract  of  nearly  400  miles  along  the 
coast  of  the  peninsula.  But  activity  ceased.  After  Thortinn  (1007)  an  expedition  went  occasion 
ally.  It  is  mentioned  that  a  certain  Gudleif  Gudlaugson  went  to  Vinland  in  the  year  1028.  He  is 
said  to  have  sailed  southward  to  a  country  which  he  called  Huitramannalaud,  i.  e.,  the  country  of 
white  men.  Possibly  the  expeditions  of  the  Northmen  from  Greenland  to  the  eastern  coast  of  North 
America  were  repeated,  while  the  Greenland  colonies  flourished.  The  last  was  according  to  Kafn, 
the  learned  Danish  investigator,  performed  in  the  year  1347.  So  this  series  of  expeditions  to 
America  can  be  traced  through  four  centuries,  but  even  the  memory  of  it  was  lost  in  the  decline  of 
Scandinavian  colonies  in  Greenland.  They  seem  to  have  been  weakened  by  pestilence,  and  at 
times  they  suffered  from  the  hostile  attacks  of  the  aborigines. 

SEBASTIAN  CABOT,  1497. 

After  the  Northmen,  the  first  European  who  touched  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America 
was  Sebastian  Cabot,  son  of  John  Cabot,  a  Venetian  merchant,  who  was  settled  in  England  in  the 
time  of  King  Henry  VII.  Columbus  at  the  outset  of  his  career  had  offered  his  services  to  the 
court  of  England,  but  there  the  offer  was  refused. 

Cabot  says  that  the  report  of  the  voyage  of  Columbus  "  increased  in  his  heart  a  great  flame  of 
desire  to  attempt  some  notable  thing."  He  believed,  as  Columbus  did,  that  the  eastern  parts  of 
Asia  could  not  be  very  distant,  and  therefore  he  proposed  to  sail  westward  in  high  latitude,  or,  as 
he  expressed  the  idea,  "  because  he  understood  by  reason  of  the  sphere  that  the  northwestern  route 
would  be  a  shorter  trace  to  come  to  India." 

The  king  ordered  two  caravals  to  be  fitted  out,  and  in  the  year  1495  issued  letters  patent,  in 
which  he  granted  to  the  undertakers  and  commanders  of  the  expedition  the  usual  rights  and  privi 
leges  "  to  discover,  and  conquer  for  him,  the  King  of  England,  any  yet  heathen  country,  and  to 
occupy  it  for  him  and  for  themselves  as  his  lieutenants,  vassals,  and  governors."  In  these  royal 
letters  Sebastian  Cabot,  his  father,  John,  and  likewise  two  brothers,  are  named  as  the  grantees,  and 
hence  some  writers  have  inferred  that  both  father  and  sou  conducted  the  expedition  across  the 
ocean.  But  it  seems  more  probable  that  the  wealthy  merchant,  John  Cabot,  was  named  ifi  the 
H.  Ex.  43 63 


498  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUEVEY. 

royal  letters  only  because  he  assisted  the  expedition  with  money.  Moreover,  Sebastian  states  that 
his  father  died  previous  to  the  year  1497,  in  which  year  the  voyage  was  undertaken. 

Cabot  sailed  westward,  keeping  along  the  50th  parallel  to  Newfoundland,  which  had  been  pre 
viously  known  to  the  Northmen  under  the  name  of  Helluland.  After  making  land  he  steered  north 
ward,  but  not  finding  the  desired  passage  to  China  he  turned  south  and  passed  along  the  (toast  of 
what  is  now  known  as  the  New  England  States.  The  southern  limit  reached  has  been  the  subject 
of  doubt.  Some  suppose  that  he  turned  at  the  38th  parallel,  but  others  judge  that  he  went  to  the 
vicinity  of  Cuba.  Peter  Martyr,  Gomara,  and  other  authorities  make  it  certain  that  he  reached 
the  entrance  of  Delaware  Bay. 

Haklnyt  states  repeatedly  that  Cabot  drew  maps  and  wrote  reports  of  his  discoveries,  but 
they  have  been  unfortunately  lost.  We  have,  however,  a  delineation  of  the  eastern  coast,  accord 
ing  to  Cabot's  report,  on  the  map  by  Juan  de  la  Cosa  in  the  year  15(1(1.  That  map  confirms  the 
belief  already  expressed  in  regard  to  the  southern  limit  of  Cabot's  voyage. 

Some  authors  intimate  that  Cabot  made  voyages  to  America  in  the  years  1498, 1499,  and  1517, 
but  the  particulars  of  such,  if  the  voyages  were  made,  are  not  known  to  us.  The  Portuguese 
expeditions  across  the  northern  parts  of  America  by  the  Brethren  Cortereal,  are  of  interest  only 
in  regard  to  the  Arctic  regions. 

PONCE  DE   LEON,  1512. 

Sebastian  Cabot  had  "  taken  possession  "  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  England  of  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  New  World,  and  in  later  times  the  English  founded  on  his  discoveries  their  right  to 
dominion.  The  Portuguese  did  not  promptly  pursue  the  northern  discoveries  commenced  by  the 
Cortereals.  By  the  Spanish,  the  exploration  of  the  northern  part  of  Cuba  was  not  taken  in  hand 
until  the  year  1508,  and  in  that  year  their  navigator,  Ocampo,  circumnavigated  that  island  for  the 
first  time. 

Excepting  the  French,  Portuguese,  and  Biscayau  fishermen,  who,  since  1504,  yearly  went  to 
Newfoundland,  we  do  not  know  with  certainty  of  any  European  expedition  to  the  eastern  coast  of 
America  between  the  years  1501  and  1512,  when  Ponce  de  Leon  led  in  that  direction.  Some  years 
earlier  he  had  conquered  and  settled  the  island  of  Porto  Rico,  and  held  possession  there  as  gover 
nor.  When  deposed,  in  consequence  of  some  misunderstanding  with  his  officers,  and  with  the  court 
of  Spain,  he  was  rich.  He  was  yet  in  the  force  and  bloom  of  his  life,  and  he  was  enterprising. 
He  listened  to  what  was  related  of  unknown  countries.  The  Indians  told  of  a  great  country  called 
Cautio,  and  of  the  existence  of  a  fountain  or  river,  Bimini,  which  had  the  quality  of  restoring  youth 
and  strength  to  those  who  bathed  in  its  waters. 

Attracted  by  the  traditions,  Ponce  de  Leon  fitted  out  three  ships  and  sailed  with  them  on  the 
3d  of  March,  1512,  from  the  harbor  St.  German,  in  Porto  Rico.  He  passed  along  the  northern  side 
of  the  Lucayan  Islands,  kept  a  northwestern  course,  and  near  Cape  Canaveral  saw  the  coast  of 
the  North  American  continent  on  the  27th  of  March  (Palm  Sunday),  which  the  Spaniards  call  Pascna 
Florida  de  Kesurreccion.  At  first  he  judged  that  the  land  in  view  was  a  small  island,  like  one  of 
the  Lucayan  Islands  which  he  had  just  left,  but  he  sailed  along  with  the  continuous  coast  in  view 
until  the  2d  of  April,  and  then  applied  the  name,  La  Florida  as  well  because  of  the  flourishing  as 
pect  as  also  that  he  saw  it  first  on  the  Sunday  of  Pascua  Florida.  He  sought  for  a  harbor,  and 
not  finding  a  good  one  turned  southward. 

On  the  8th  of  May  Ponce  doubled  a  large  cape  where  the  currents  gave  much  trouble,  and 
which  he  therefore  named  Cabo  d«  Corrientes  (cape  of  the  currents),  which  Herrera  puts  in  latitude 
28°  15'  north,  and  consequently  it  was  Cape  Canaveral.  In  going  southward  several  small  isl 
ands  were  noticed  but  these  cannot  be  identified,  as  many  inlets  have  been  opened  and  closed  again 
in  the  course  of  time  by  the  action  of  the  sea. 

Ponce  de  Leon  doubled  the  Cape  of  Florida  without  attaching  a  name,  and  soon  after  dis 
covered  the  Florida  Keys,  or  Martires,  the  Tortugas,  and  the  western  coast  of  the  Florida 
peninsula.  On  his  return  voyage  to  Porto  Rico,  one  of  the  ships  was  sent  in  command  of  Perez 
de  Ortubia  and  Antonio  de  Alaminos  toward  the  northwest  to  search  again  for  the  island  and 
fountain  of  Bimini.  Their  report  is  meager,  and  no  mention  is  made  in  it  of  the  coast  of  Florida. 
They  appear  to  have  sailed  only  amongst  the  Lucayan  Islands. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  499 

Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  was  on  the  coast  in  the  year  1520,  but  a  few  years  earlier  some 
voyages  of  secondary  interest  were  made.  An  English  ship  is  said  to  have  sailed  at  this  period 
southward  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Antilles  and  Porto  Rico.  Amongst  Spanish  authors  who 
mention  this  voyage,  Hen-era  puts  its  arrival  at  Porto  Itico  in  the  year  1519;  others  have  put  it  in 
the  year  1517.  Herrera,  whom  we  follow,  says  that  "  in  the  year  1519  arrived  an  English  vessel 
in  the  island  of  S.  Juan  [Porto  Kico],  which  was  examined  by  Spanish  officers,  and  the  commander 
of  which  stated  that  they  had  been  for  the  discovery  of  a  northwest  passage  or  oceanic  route  to 
the  Gran  Can,  i.  e.,  to  China,  from  England  to  Newfoundland,  thence  southwest  to  the  river 
Chicora,  and  that  from  there  they  had  come  in  a  southern  direction  to  Porto  Rico."  As  the 
expedition  is  mentioned  as  English,  some  have  supposed  that  Sebastian  Cabot  was  the  com 
mander. 

Cortes,  in  the  same  year  (1519),  sent  out  Antonio  de  Alaminos  with  dispatches  for  Spain.  He 
passed  through  the  Gulf  of  Florida  and  the  Strait  of  Bahama,  but  did  not  land  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  Florida,  though  at  several  times  the  land  was  in  view.  Passing  by  the  Burmudas  he 
returned  to  Spain. 

Diego  Mirnelo,  a  well-known  Spanish  pilot,  doubtless  made  voyages  in  these  regions  on  his 
own  account.  His  movements  fill  the  interval  between  Ponce  de  Leon  and  Vasquez  de  Ayllon. 

LUCAS  VASQUEZ  DE  AYLLON,  15->0-1525. 

Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  was  a  Spanish  officer  eminent  by  literary  attainments.*  He  was 
some  time  auditor  of  the  royal  court  of  San  Domingo,  and  had  become  wealthy  in  his  employ 
ment.  When  laborers  became  scarce  in  the  Lucayas  and  in  the  Antilles,  Ayllon,  with  some  others, 
made  an  expedition  to  the  north  to  kidnap  Indian  slaves.  They  fitted  out  two  vessels,  and  Ayllon 
took  command.  Diego  Miruelo  went  as  pilot.  In  the  course  of  the  year  1520  they  followed  the 
track  of  Ponce  de-  Leon,  and  passing  around  the  Lucayan  Islands  they  arrived  at  the  shore  of  a 
great  country,  which,  by  the  aborigines,  was  called  Chicora.  On  that  part  of  the  coast  they 
named  a  cape  "C'abo  de  Santa  Elena,"  as  it  was  first  seen  by  them  on  the  day  of  that  saint.  This 
was  probably  a  point  of  land  near  Saint  Helena  Sound  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina.  In  that 
vicinity  Ayllon  named  a  river  after  one  of  his  captains,  "Rio  Jordan.1"  The  extent  of  the  voyage 
is  not  well  defined,  either  by  Herrera  or  Oviedo.  Barcia  says  that  the  party  lauded  at  several 
places,  and  on  nearly  contemporary  Spanish  maps  we  find  the  names  "Cabo  S.  Romans,"  "Riv. 
Canoas,"  "Cabo  de  Trafalgar,"  and  others  that  suggest  Ayllou  as  having  applied  them.  It  is, 
however,  possible  that  some  of  them  ^ere  not  given  by  Ayllon  on  his  first  voyage  in  1520,  but  rather 
on  his  second  expedition  in  the  year  1525.  He  went  to  Spain  after  his  first  voyage,  and  was  com 
missioned  by  the  king  to  explore,  conquer,  and  settle  that  promising  country.  But  by  reason  of 
various  impediments  his  second  voyage  was  delayed.  One  of  the  hindrances  will  be  mentioned. 
A  certain  Ortiz  de  Matienco,  also  a  Spanish  civil  officer,  and  like  Ayllon,  provided  with  vessels, 
protested  against  Ayllon's  expedition  because  one  of  Matienco's  ships  had  made  the  same  dis 
covery.  But  Ayllon,  notwithstanding  the  protest,  sailed  to  Chicora.  He  merely  added  another 
name,  that  of  the  river  "Guale"  or  "Gnaldape,"  or,  as  Oviedo  writes,  "Guadalupe,"  which  is  stated 
as  being  about  30  miles  south  of  the  Point  Saint  Helena,  and  possibly  it  was  Savannah  River. 

In  an  unfortunate  expedition  against  Indians  at  some  distance  from  the  coast,  Ayllon  and 
many  of  his  men  were  killed.  The  survivors  of  the  party  returned  to  the  Antilles.  Previously 
Florida  had  been  regarded  as  an  island,  but  the  expedition  of  Ayllon  determined  its  peninsular 
configuration. 

JOHN  DE   VERRAZANO,  1524. 

Christopher  Columbus  and  his  brother  Bartholomew,  before  acceptance  in  Spain,  had  made 
propositions  to  the  court  of  France,  and  at  one  time  it  seemed  probable  that  their  offer  would  be 
there  accepted.  French  pirates  and  adventurers  were  early  followers  of  the  Spaniards  to  the 
West  Indies.  After  the  year  1504  French  navigators  of  Dieppe  and  other  ports  of  France  crossed 
the  ocean  to  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  and  returned  to  Europe  with  fish. 

Francis  I  was,  however,  the  first  French  king  who  sent  an  expedition  specially  intended  for 


500  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

the  discovery  of  new  lauds.    The  command  of  it  was  given  to  an  Italian,  John  de  Verrazauo, 
who  belonged  to  Florence. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1523  Verrazano  sailed  from  Dieppe  with  four  ships.  Un  his  arrival 
at  Madeira,  only  one  vessel,  the  Dolphin,  was  found  seaworthy,  and  in  that,  with  fifty  men,  he 
started  westward.  After  sailing  about  900  leagues  by  his  reckoning,  and  after  being  fifty  days  at 
sea,  he  sighted  the  coast  of  America  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Fear.  From  thence  he  sailed 
northward,  and,  following  the  trend  of  the  coast,  must  have  passed  the  entrances  of  Chesapeake 
and  Delaware  Bays.  Finally  he  reached  a  very  pleasant  place  showing  steep  hills,  and  an 
exceeding  great  stream  of  water,  so  deep  at  the  mouth  that  any  great  ship  might  pass  up.  Ho 
entered  with  his  boats,  and  found  the  country  thickly  peopled.  Circumstances  did  not  permit 
him  to  proceed  inland,  so  he  sailed  50  leagues  eastward  as  the  trend  of  the  coast  was  in  that 
direction.  From  this  it  seems  evident  that  Verrazauo  touched  the  mouth  of  Hudson  River  and 
New  York  Harbor.  For  some  time  the  Hudson  was  called  "the  river  of  the  hills  or  mountains." 
His  mention  of  the  trend  of  the  coast  eastward  makes  it  certain  that  Verrazano  was  the  first 
European  who  visited  the  entrance  of  the  Hudson.  Sailing  along  the  sea  coast  of  Long  Island, 
he  seems  to  have  regarded  it  as  part  of  the  mainland;  but  in  going  eastward  he  soon  discovered 
an  island  somewhat  triangular  in  outline.  This  he  named  L'isle  Claudia,  in  honor  of  the  mother 
of  Francis  I.  Some  authors  have  judged  this  to  be  Block  Island,  but  by  others  it  has  been,  with 
more  probability,  taken  as  Martha's  Vineyard.  However  that  might  have  been,  Verrazauo  sailed 
over  to  a  great  and  commodious  harbor  or  bay,  in  41§  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  there  remained 
fifteen  da^s,  trading  with  the  natives  and  exploring  the  country.  This  bay  was  20  leagues  in 
circuit  and  contained  five  pleasant  and  fruitful  islands, '"among  the  which  islands  [he  says]  our 
great  navy  may  ride  safe,  without  any  fear  of  tempest  or  other  danger."  From  this  description 
it  se'ems  clear  that  Verrazano  had  entered  Narragansett  Bay.  It  is  remarkable  that  he  was  at  this 
time  the  first  to  mention  the  name  "Island  of  Rhodes,"  which  afterwards  was  adopted  as  a 
designation. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1524,  Verrazauo  left,  and  sailing  east  and  then  north  for  150  leagues, 
found  the  coast  studded  with  crags,  the  shore  having  many  turnings  and  windings  between  them, 
offering  fair  harbors.  He  counted  thirty-two  islands  on  that  part  of  the  coast.  Plainly  he  was 
then  on  the  coast  of  Maine.  He  does  not  mention  the  remarkable  projection  now  known  as  Cape 
Cod.  From  the  coast  of  Maine  he  sailed  northeast  about  150  leagues,  and  when  off  Newfoundland 
turned  back  and  reached  the  coast  of  France  early  in  July,  1524. 

It  is  not  known  that  Verrazauo  made  any  maps.  In  his  report  mention  is  made  of  latitude^ 
and  he  assigned  no  names,  excepting  that  of  the  island  Claudia.  But  he  indicates  with  tolerable 
accuracy  the  trending  of  the  coasts  and  distances.  He  saw  the  entire  coast  from  Cape  Fear 
northward  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  his  descriptions  are  tolerable.  From  what  he  says,  Narragan 
sett  Bay  and  Hudson  River  entrance  can  be  readily  identified.  Ramusio  says  that  Verrazauo  and 
several  of  his  men  were  killed  by  savages ;  but  some  Spanish  historians  record  that  he  was 
captured  in  1524  and  hanged  by  their  countrymen. 

ESTEVAN  GOMEZ,  1526. 

The  Spaniards  advanced  slowly  towards  the  north.  Previous  to  the  year  1525  not  one  of  their 
navigators  had  passed  the  thirtieth  parallel.  Ayllon's  north  limit  was  the  boundary  of  Spanish 
research  in  that  direction.  Beyond  that  voyages  had  been  made  only  by  the  English,  Portuguese, 
and  French ;  by  Cabot,  Cortereal,  Verrazano,  and  others.  Yet  none  doubted  that  there  was  much 
land  in  the  higher  latitudes.  Newfoundland  and  Labrador  were  included  under  the  name 
I'BaccaZaos,"  and  between  that  and  Florida  the  Spaniards  supposed' there  might  be  a  strait. 
True,  Cabot  and  Juan  de  la  Cosa  had  represented  the  coast  as  continental,  but  they  did  not  look 
into  each  inlet,  nor  explore  as  minutely  as  Verrazano.  Moreover,  maps  of  that  period  showed  an 
open  gap  or  branch  of  ocean  between  Baccalaos  and  Florida.  So,  also,  years  after  the  voyage  of 
Columbus  to  Veragua  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  maps  showed  a  channel,  which  it  was  thought 
might  have  been  overlooked  by  that  navigator.  In  the  year  1525  the  Spaniards  fitted  out  an 
expedition  in  the  hope  of  reaching  China  by  a  water  passage  around  the  continent  of  North 
America,  Estevan  Gomez,  who  had  been  with  Magellan,  was  put  in  charge,  and  his  expectation 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  501 

was  to  repeat  in  a  high  northern  latitude  what  had  been  done  at  the  southern  extremity  of  South 
America.  In  fact,  the  notion  was  then  somewhat  common  that  geographical  configuration  at  the 
north  should  correspond  with  that  at  the  south. 

Estevan  Gomez  sailed  with  one  ship  from  the  port  of  Coruuna,  at  the  end  -of  the  year  1524, 
directly  over  to  Baccalaos  [Newfoundland],  and  there  turned  and  passed  southward  along  the 
eastern  coast  of  North  America.  There  is  no  journal  of  his  voyage  nor  copies  of  maps  which  he 
doubtless  made.  Spanish  authors  merely  allude  to  the  voyage.  It  is  known,  however,  that  he 
followed  the  course  of  his  predecessor,  Verrazano,  merely  reversing  the  order  by  passing  from 
north  to  south.  Oviedo  says  that  Gomez  sailed  southward  to  the  fortieth  parallel,  and  that  he 
brought  some  Indian  prisoners  home  to  Spain. 

tlerrera  says :  Gomez  sailed  much  further  to  the  southward,  and  traveled  from  Florida  to 
Cuba  where  be  remained  some  time,  and  then  returned  to  Europe.  After  an  absence  often  mouths 
he  was  again  at  Corunua  in  November,  1525.  That  he  brought  home  a  map  and  description  of 
the  country  explored  is  evident  from  the  map  of  America  made  by  Diego  Ribero  a  few  years  after. 
Without  doubt  he  took  the  configuration  of  the  coast  from  Gomez,  as  neither  before  nor  soon  after 
was  that  part  of  the  coast  visited  by  any  Spaniard. 

Ribero  gives  to  the  entire  region  the  name  of  the  explorer,  "  Tierra  de  Etitevan  Gomez,"  and 
this  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  name  applied  to  New  England.  It  was  retained  on  nearly  all 
maps  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Gomez  Land  was  the  name  commonly  appplied,  until  it  was 
displaced  by  English  discoveries. 

Two  capes  marked  by  Gomez  appear  on  nearly  all  subsequeut  maps,  namely :  "  Cabo  de  Muchas 
Islas"  [cape  of  many  islands]  and  "Cabo  de  Arenas,"  i.  e.  the  cape  of  sand.  The  first  seems  to 
be  Cape  Elizabeth,  on  the  coast  of  Maine;  the  other  was  either  Cape  May  or  Cape  Henlopen. 
The  sea  between  the  extreme  capes  is  marked  on  the  map  "Archipelago  de  Estevan  Gomez,"  but 
on  subsequent  maps  the  name  of  the  navigator  is  omitted.  To  the  northeast  of  Cape  Cod  a 
broad  inlet  is  invariably  marked  as  "Rio  de  las  Gamas"  (Deer  River),  and  perhaps  it  is  what  is 
now  known  as  Peuobscot  Bay. 

ENGLISH  VOYAGE,  1527 

Hakluyt  relates  (Vol.  Ill,  p.  129)  that  Master  Robert  Thorne,  of  Bristol,  a  man  of  learning 
and  influence,  moved  King  Henry  VIII  to  encourage  discovery  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  new 
world. 

Two  ships  were  fitted  out,  one  of  them  bearing  the  name  Douiinus  Vobiscum.  One  of  the 
vessels  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Labrador,  the  other  went  towards  Cape  Bieton  and  the  coast 
of  New  England.  Alter  lauding  to  look  at  the  country,  the  vessel  returned  home  early  in  October 
of  the  year  1527. 

SPANISH   EXPEDITIONS,  1528-1543. 

Estevan  Gomez  and  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  returned  from  the  eastern  coast  of  North 
America,  one  to  Spain,  the  other  to  the  Antilles  with  miserable  Indian  prisoners  or  slaves  in  lieu 
of  expected  riches.  But  the  impression  yet  remained  that  wealth  might  be  gained  by  going 
further  westward  and  that  a  region  of  gold  might  be  reached  by  passing  through  the  Mexican 
Gulf.  There  followed  consequently  two  land  expeditions  in  that  direction,  one  under  Narvaez  in 
the  year  1528;  the  other  under  Fernando  de  Soto  in  1538.  The  ill-fated  expedition  of  Narvaez 
was  attended  by  five  vessels  which  carried  four  hundred  men  and  eighty  horses.  After  landing 
at  Tampa  Bay  the  vessels  passed  on  and  the  land  force  perished  in  the  attempt  to  pass  westward 
along  the  coast  in  boats. 

De  Soto  wintered  at  Apalachee  and  then  marched  through  territory  which  is  now  known  as 
the  State  of  Georgia.  His  land  of  promise  was  "  Cofachique,"  a  name  by  which  Spanish  authors 
have  designated  Savannah  River.  On  reaching  the  country  of  the  Liceuciado  Ayllon,  he  found 
amongst  the,  Indians  some  iron  tools  and  weapons,  probably  remains  of  Aylloirs  expedition  of 
152(1  and  1525.  The  Indians  described  to  De  Soto  several  encounters  with  Ayllou's  men. 

Hoping  steadily  to  find  in  the  interior  another  laud  like  Mexico  or  like  Peru,  the  party  exam- 
iued  the  country  and  probably  were  in  the  region  now  occupied  by  Peusacola.  After  two  years 


502  UOTTED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

of  travel  aud  toil,  De  Soto  ended  bis  life  in  the  interior  of  the  Mississippi  country.  His  two  cap 
tains,  Diego  Maldonado  and  Gomez  Arias,  waited  in  vain  according  to  his  orders,  supposing  that 
he  might  have  returned  from  the  interior  by  another  route,  but  finally  they  made  a  series  of  expe 
ditions  along  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts,  but  of  these  it  is  probable  that  detailed  reports  were 
not  written.  Garcilasso,  Herrera,  and  Barcia  assert  that  the  expedition  went  along  over  the 
Atlantic  coast  northward  to  li  Baccalaos,"  aud  looked  into  every  harbor  and  every  bay  in  search 
for  De  Soto. 

In  the  interval  of  thirty-six  years  preceding  the  French  expedition  under  Ribaut  in  15(!2  there 
is  no  record  of  any  Spanish  exploration.  The  maps  and  geographical  descriptions  of  that  period 
are  marked  with  new  names,  but  we  cannot  refer  them  either  to  Estevau  Gomez  (1~>24)  or  to  Ayllon 
(1520-1525). 

The  most  remarkable  description  of  that  time  is  contained  in  the,  second  volume  of  Oviedo'8 
History  of  the  West  Indies.  We  here  append  a  summary ;  but  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  date 
of  the  manuscript  is  uncertain.  We  know,  however,  that  Oviedo  published  the  first  volume  of 
his  history  in  the  year  1535;  and  that  in  the  year  1557,  when  he  died,  the  second  volume,  which 
contains  the  description  here  in  question,  was  ready  for  the  printer. 

Oviedo  begins  his  description  at  the  southward  with  what  he  calls  "  I'-unta  de  la  Florida,"  and 
that  he  states  as  in  latitude  25§°  north.  The  cape  discovered  by  Ponce  de  Leon  in  1512,  and 
which  he  named  Cabo  de  Corrientes  [Cape  of  Currents],  is  called  by  Oviedo  Cabo  de  Canaveral. 
But  no  practical  purpose  would  be  met  by  recapitulating  the  names  given  on  old  Spanish  maps 
to  particular  places.  The  "Cape  Trafalgar"  of  that  period  is  our  Cape  Hatteras.  Oviedo 
methodically  states  distances  from  points  and  river  entrances  in  going  northward.  Few  of  the 
places  can  be  identified,  but  his  description  of  Saint  Antonio  River,  which  is  "in  aline  direct 
from'the  north  to  the  south,"  leaves  little  doubt  that  lie  passed  tip  the  Hudson  River.  Estevau 
Gomez  was  in  that  vicinity  in  the  year  1524.  From  Oviedo's  description  it  is  easy  to  identify  Long 
Island  and  also  Long  Island  Sound,  as  well  as  Xarragansett  I? ay.  Excepting  Gomez  and  Ayllon, 
Oviedo  does  not  name  any  explorer  as  affording  him  knowledge,  and  it  cannot  be  stated  with 
certainty  which  of  the  navigators  first  saw  and  named  Cape  Trafalgar  [llatteras],  or  Saint  Mary's 
Bay  [Chesapeake],  or  Cape  Arenas  [Henlopenj,  and  others. 

CAPTAIN   JEAN  RIBAUT. 

Admiral  Coligny,  as  chief  of  the  Huguenots,  sought  an  asylum  for  his  persecuted  brethren, 
and  with  the  permission  of  the  King  (Charles  IX)  fitted  out  two  vessels  in  the  harbor  of  Dieppe. 
Ribaut  was  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  expedition.  He  sailed  on  the  18th  of  February, 
1562,  aud  at  the  end  of  two  months  sighted  a  low  cape  which  he  named  "  Cap  Francois."  This 
was  doubtless  some  object  seen  on  the  coast  of  Florida  near  Saint  Augustine.  He  went  north 
ward  from  thence,  probably  because  he  wished  to  avoid  ground  known  to  be  under  Spanish  do 
minion.  After  sailing  no  great  distance  he  entered  a  broad  river  on  the  1st  of  May,  aud  named 
it ''  La  Riviere  de  May."  This  was  doubtless  the  Saint  John's.  In  coasting  GO  leagues  further  he 
discovered  and  named  eight  rivers,  giving  generally  the  names  pertaining  to  well  known  rivers  in 
France.  Finally  the  vessels  entered  a  spacious  sound  and  found  it  more  commodious  than  others. 
This  was  by  Ribaut  named  Port  Royal,  and  there  he  concluded  to  make  a  settlement.  He  explored 
the  branches,  and  named  them,  but  the  names  were  not  retained  on  subsequent  maps.  Some  of 
his  soldiers,  under  command  of  a  Captain  Albert,  were  left  in  a  fort  which  was  named  in  honor  of 
the  King  of  France,  "  Charles  Fort."  Ribaut  went  on  to  the  mouth  of  Edisto  River,  and  there 
finding  that  his  provisions  were  becoming  scarce  he  turned  eastward  and  arrived  on  the  coast 
of  France  on  the  20th  of  July,  15G2.  Civil  war  then  raged  in  that  kingdom,  and  the  little  col 
ony  on  the  coast  of  North  America  was  left  without  succor.  By  the  eflbrts  of  Coligny  some 
vessels  were  seut  to  protect  the  national  interests;  but  in  the  interval  the  colony  at  Charles  Fort 
suffered  for  want  of  provisions.  Dissensions  broke  out  in  the  party,  and  the  commander,  Cap. 
tain  Albert,  was  killed  by  turbulent  members  in  his  attempt  to  quell  the  revolt.  At  last  they 
built  a  vessel,  trusted  themselves  to  the  ocean,  and  wheu  in  great  distress  were  picked  up  at  sea 
by  an  English  ship,  and  thus  returned  to  Europe. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  503 

In  the  year  1564  three  vessels  wore  fitted  out,  and  the  captain  (Rene"  de  Laudouniere)  who  had 
accompanied  Ribaut  on  the  first  voyage  was  put  in  charge  of  the  little  fleet,  and  sailed  from  Havre 
on  the  22d  of  April,  15(54.  He  reached  the  coast  of  Florida  on  the  22d  of  June,  and  from  his 
description  of  the  landfall  must  have  been  near  Saint  Augustine  entrance.  The  expedition  was 
unfortunate.  Most  of  the  companions  of  the  adventurer  were  killed  in  contests  with  the  Spaniards. 
Laudouniere  gives  the  particulars  in  his  "  Histoire  Notable  de  la  Floride,"  which  was  published  in 
1586.  Like  other  commanders  of  new  settlements  in  America,  he  encountered  mutiny.  A  party 
of  his  men,  thinking  it  better  to  try  some  expedition  against  the  Spanish  settlements  toward  the 
south,  seized  one  of  his  ships  and  sailed  to  Cuba  and  Jamaica.  With  the  others  Laudonniere 
passed  the  winter  and  spring  of  1565  in  exploring  the  coast.  On  the  30th  of- August  the  English 
navigator,  Sir  John  Hawkins,  appeared  on  the  coast  and  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  May  River  with 
four  vessels.  Hawkins  was  then  on  his  second  return  voyage  from  the  West  Indies,  and  had  on 
board  a  Frenchman  who  had  been  with  Ribaut  in  1562  at  Port  Royal.  At  that  place  Hawkins 
took  in  fresh  water,  visited  Laudouniere,  and  sold  to  him  one  of  the  English  vessels.  Thus  pro 
vided,  the  Frenchman  was  about  to  return  to  Europe,  when,  on  the  28th  of  August,  his  former 
commander,  Ribaut,  arrived  with  a  force  suitable  for  any  ordinary  expedition. 

SIR  JOHN  HAWKINS,   1565. 

Before  relating  the  particulars  of  Ribaut's  second  voyage,  it  is  proper  to  mention  that  after 
Hawkins  ranged  along  the  coast  of  Florida  and  left  Landouniere,  as  already  stated,  the  English 
commander  sailed  northeast  as  far  as  Newfoundland.  His  voyage  is  described  in  Hakluyt's  third 
volume.  Doubtless  he  made  a  map  of  this  survey,  as  he  was  the  first  English  navigator  who 
closely  examined  the  coast  of  Florida,  but  the  existence  of  such  map  is  not  known. 

On  his  second  voyage  Ribaut  arrived  at  the  river  May  on  the  28th  of  August,  1565,  and  only 
a  week  later  a  strong  Spanish  fleet  appeared  there  tinder  the  command  of  Don  Pe'dro  Meuendez,  with 
orders  from  the  King  of  Spain  to  eject  all  heretics  from  the  country  of  Florida,  that  territory  being 
from  olden  time  regarded  as  Spanish  dominion.  The  Spanish  forces  settled  at  a  position  a  little 
south  of  May  1  fiver  and  then  moved  against  the  small  French  force  under  Ribaut  and  Laudoun 
iere.  Jean  Ribaut  and  many  others  were  killed  in  the  attack.  Laudouniere  and  some  others 
escaped  in  one  of  the  vessels  and  reached  France  at  the  end  of  the  year  1565.  Two  year's  later 
(1567)  the  French  captain,  Gourgues,  undertook  to  chastise  the  Spaniards.  His  expedition  was 
conducted  with  courage,  and  it  is  remarkable,  also,  for  the  quick  voyage  made  by  the  party. 

Gourgues  sailed  from  France  on  the  22d  of  August,  1567,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers. 
He  reached  Florida  in  October,  and  in  the  course  of  the  winter  destroyed  three  Spanish  forts  at 
Saint  John's  River  and  Saint  Augustine  Harbor,  which  were  defended  by  numbers  greater  than 
his  own.  The  garrisons  were  dispersed,  but  with  his  limited  force,  being  unable  to  keep  possession 
for  France,  he  sailed  from  Florida  on  the  3d  of  May,  1568,  and  after  a  voyage  of  thirty-four  days 
landed  at  Rochelle.  But  Charles  IX  of  France  regarded  these  expeditions  to  Florida  as  being  in 
the  interest  of  Huguenots  and  favored  by  Coligny.  The  King  was  unwilling  to  give  any  offense 
to  the  Spanish  court,  hence  no  other  effort  was  made  from  France.  The  names  given  by  adven 
turers  from  that  power,  with  a  single  exception,  ''  Port  Royal  Entrance,"  disappeared  from  maps  of 
that  period. 

FLORIDA,  1565-1574. 

Don  Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles  had  distinguished  himself  as  a  commander  of  fleets  and  expe 
ditions  in  the  service  of  the  King  of  Spain.  A  son  of  de  Aviles  had  served  in  the  West  Indies  and 
was  finally  shipwrecked  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  where  he  was  supposed  to  be  in  captivity  amongst 
the  savages.  The  father  was  permitted  to  fit  out  an  expedition  for  search,  and  was  commissioned 
also  to  explore  the  country  and  to  make  maps  of  the  bays,  harbors,  capes,  and  other  geographical 
features  of  Florida. 

While  Menendez  was  yet  in  port  he  had  news  of  the  French  expeditions  of  Ribaut  and 
Laudouniere,  and  it  was  rumored  that  a  large  reinforcement  was  on  the  way  to  Florida.  The 
King  of  Spain  therefore  eiilarged  the  fleet  and  army  of  Meueudez,  and  directed  him  to  eject  all 
foreigners  and  intruders  from  the  country  in  which  he  was  to  operate. 


504  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

Menendez  sailed  from  Cadiz  on  the  2!>th  of  June,  1565,  with  thirty-four  vessels  and  about 
three  thousand  persons.  But  the  ships  were  separated  by  storms.  The  commander,  with  some  of 
the  ships,  sighted  the  coast  of  Florida  on  the  28th  of  August,  the  day  of  Saint  Augustine.  Where 
the  French  had  settled  was  not  known.  They  were  supposed  to  be  northward,  and  the  fleet  moved 
in  that  direction.  A  harbor  was  entered  and  explored.  Laudouniere,  in  the  year  1564,  had  named 
it  Riviere  des  Dauphins,  but  Menendez  called  it  San  Augustin. 

Learning  from  the  natives  that  the  French  were  on  the  coast  farther  north,  Menendez  sailed  on 
and  found  them  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  May,  but  they  avoided  his  intended  attack.  Not 
deeming  it  advisable  to  move  on  their  fort  without  providing  defenses  on  the  coast  for  an 
emergency,  he  returned  to  Augustine  Harbor  and  there  erected  a  fortified  camp.  Soon  after  he 
marched  and  attacked  the  French  fort  "Caroline"  by  land  and  killed  the  greater  part  of  the 
garrison  and  settlers.  He  applied  the  name  San  Mateo,  and  the  river  May  took  then  the  same 
name.  The  vigorous  pursuit  of  the  French  led  Menendez  to  various  parts  of  the  region,  and  he 
was  thus  engaged  during  eight  years  after  the  year  1506.  He  established  a  small  fort  not  far 
from  Cape  Florida,  in  the  Indian  province  of  Teguesto ;  the  fort  Santa  Lucia,  south  of  Cape 
Canaveral,  at  an  indentation  which  the  Spaniards  called  "  Puerto  de  Is ; "  the  fort  in  Saint 
Augustine  Harbor;  the  fort  San  Mateo,  on  the  river  May,  i.  e.,  Saint  John's  River;  and  the  fort 
San  Felipe,  at  Saint  Helena  entrance.  He  dispatched  also  a  captain  with  thirty  soldiers  and  some 
Dominican  friars  as  far  north  as  Chesapeake  Bay,  but  that  expedition  was  unfortunate.  The 
party  deeming  it  inexpedient  to  settle  there  sailed  for  Spain. 

In  the  course  of  nine  years  Don  Pedro  Menendez  sailed  at  least  twelve  times  around  the 
peninsula  of  Florida.  The  historian  Barcia  records  him  as  having  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  coast  than  any  man  before  his  time.  He  explored  the  interior  also,  along  the  Saint  John's 
and  the  Rio  Salado,  which  it  was  supposed  might  be  a  passage  toward  the  East  Indies. 

Of  the  expeditious  of  Menendez  the  most  interesting  is  recorded  in  the  narrative  by  his 
nephew,  Pedro  Menendez  Marquez,  who  was  an  able  seaman  and  afterwards  a  commander  of 
Spanish  fleets.  The  nephew  was  accompanied  by  four  ships  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
Barcia  states  that  the  exploration  commenced  at  Cape  Florida  and  was  prosecuted  northward 
beyond  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay.  This  bay  (says  Barcia)  is  3  leagues  broad  at  its 
entrance  and  it  stretches  towards  the  north- north  west,  and  has  many  rivers  and  ports  on  both 
sides.  His  mention  of  soundings  agrees  so  well  with  our  charts  that  he  must  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  best  amongst  early  explorers  of  Chesapeake  Bay. 

Menendez  died  in  the  year  1574,  soon  after  his  return  from  Florida.  His  forts  and  colonies 
were  deserted,  and  it  may  be  said  that  with  him  ended  the  age  of  Spanish  expeditions  on  the 
Atlantic  coast. 

SIR    WALTER    EALEIGH. 

Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  granted  to  Raleigh,  in  the  year  1584,  certain  letters  patent, 
nearly  in  tenor  like  those  granted  by  Henry  VII  to  Sebastian  Cabot;  and  thus  Raleigh  was 
allowed  to  fit  out  naval  and  military  expeditions,  and  to  "discover,  search,  find  out,  and  view 
such  remote  heathen  and  barbarous  countries  and  territories  as  were  not  actually  possessed  of  any 
Christian  prince,  and  to  hold  them  as  her  vicegerent."  This  patent  was  issued  on  the  25th  of 
March,  1584,  and  on  the  27th  of  the  ensuing  April  the  first  expedition,  fitted  out  by  Raleigh  at 
his  own  charge,  sailed  under  his  command. 

Raleigh  had  interested  in  his  enterprise  some  wealthy  merchants  and  other  gentlemen,  and  at 
their  joint  cost  two  vessels  were  provided  with  crews.  They  sailed  from  the  Thames  early  in  the 
year  1584,  under  command  of  Philip  Amadas  and  Arthur  Barlow,  with  instructions  to  explore  the 
east  coast  of  Florida,  and  find  some  convenient  place  for  settlement.  As  usual  at  that  time,  the 
vessels  made  for  the  West  Indies  entered  the  Gulf  Stream  between  Cuba  and  Florida,  and  then 
went  north  and  entered  some  convenient  harbor.  That  they  entered  Ocracoke  Inlet  seems  prob 
able,  as  the  report  says  that  after  entering  they  sailed  7  miles  north  to  the  island  of  Roanoke. 
They  named  the  entrance  "Wokoken,"  probably  from  Indian  pronunciation.  In  fact  the  first 
adventurers  on  the  coast  of  Virginia  generally  adopted  Indian  designations.  On  the  first  map  ot 
Virginia  (by  John  Whi&)  there  is  only  one  European  name,  that  of  "Virginia." 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  505 

Amadas,  Barlow,  and  their  men  did  not  advance  westward  into  the  sound  which  is  now 
known  as  I'amplico  Sound.  They  anchored  at  Roanoke  Island.  There  they  had  some  friendly 
intercourse  with  the  aborigines,  and  from  them  acquired  names  for  tlie  parts  of  that  region.  The 
river  which  enters  the  sound,  then  called  the  river  Neus,  bears  at  this  day  the  name  Neuse  River. 
In  September,  1.5S1,  they  returned  to  England,  and  their  favorable  report  suggested  to  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  the  proposal  that  the  country  should  be  named  "Virginia,"  which  was  done  in  honor  of 
(.hieen  Elizabeth. 

Raleigh  hastened  preparations  for  an  expedition  to  further  explore  and  make  settlements  in 
the  country.  Seven  vessels  were  fitted  out  and  placed  in  charge  of  Sir  Richard  Grenville.  Of  the 
crews,  most  of  the  men  had  been  in  the  earlier  expedition,  and  Captain  Amadas  accompanied  the 
party.  The  vessels  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  9th  of  April,  1585,  and,  as  usual,  made  for  the 
West  Indies  and  passed  in  the  Gulf  Stream  to  the  northern  part  of  Florida.  On  the  23d  of  June 
they  were  near  a  cape  and  were  in  danger  of  shipwreck.  This  was  named  "  Cape  Fear,"  and  three 
days  afterwards  the  vessels  anchored  in  Wocokon  Inlet,  which  is  now  known  as  Ocracoke  Inlet. 
Grenville  passed  seven  days  in  exploring  Pamplico  Sound.  From  Hatteras  Inlet  a  colony  of  one 
hundred  men  was  sent  to  Roanoke  Island  under  Master  Ralph  Lane,  and,  leaving  Master  Philip 
Amadas  in  general  command,  Grenville  returned,  and  arrived  in  England  on  the  18th  of  October, 
1585. 

Lane  and  Amadas  passed  the  winter  of  1585-'86  on  Roanoke  Island,  and  in  the  spring  made  ex 
cursions  toward  the  south  and  also  west  and  northwest.  They  explored  the  expanse  now  known  as 
Albemarle  Sound  and  also  Pamplico  Sound,  and  went  as  far  north  as  Chesapeake  Bay.  Doubtless 
the  geographical  knowledge  thus  gained  was  laid  down  on  the  earliest  map  of  Virginia,  which  is 
ascribed  to  John  White.  It  was  first  published  by  De  Bry,  in  the  year  1590.  Ralph  Lane  intro 
duced  the  name  "  Chesapeake  Bay."  The  Indians  living  on  its  shores  he  calls  "  Chesepians."  Albe- 
inarle  Sound  he  designates  "  Sound  of  Weapomeiock  " ;  the  Chowan  River,  which  falls  into  it,  the 
"  River  of  Chawanaok";  and  Roanoke  River,  as  the  "  River  of  Moraine."  This  last  he  explored 
in  boats  to  a  distance  of  60  miles,  and  supposing  that  the  source  was  near  Mexico,  and  that  by 
following  the  channel  a  passage  might  be  made  to  the  South  Sea,  he  traced  it  to  the  mountains 
in  hope  of  finding  silver.  Soon  after,  disputes  with  the  natives  brought  the  colonists  into  distress. 
The  supplies  promised  by  Raleigh  and  Grenville  did  not  arrive.  Fortunately,  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
on  his  return  from  the  West  Indies  and  Florida,  inquired,  in  order  to  report  the  state  of  the  colony 
in  England.  He  offered  provisions,  and  a  vessel  and  boats,  but  the  discouraged  colonists  requested 
him  to  take  them  home,  so  the  first  Virginia  colony  arrived  with  Drake  at  Portsmouth  on  the  27th 
of  July,  1586. 

Meanwhile,  Raleigh  had  dispatched  a  ship  with  provisions  for  the  relief  of  the  colony,  and 
soon  after  three  ships  under  Sir  Richard  Greuville.  All  arrived  safely  not  long  after  the  depart 
ure  of  Drake  ;  but  finding  no  one  alive  at  the  site  of  the  colony,  Sir  Richard  left  fifteen  men,  pro 
visioned  for  two  years,  on  the  Island  of  Roanoke.  The  ships  then  returned  to  England.  Of  these 
men  nothing  was  heard  afterwards.  They  perished,  leaving  no  record. 

CAFFAIN  JOHN  WHITE,  1587-1590. 

This  commander,  who  had  been  with  Grenville,  was  sent  out  in  the  year  1587  with  three  ves 
sels.  At  the  instance  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  provided  the  means,  White  was  then  styled 
"  Gorernour  of  the  citie  of  Baleiijh  in  Virginia."  White  landed  the  colonists  on  Roanoke  Island,  and 
then  returned  to  England  for  further  supplies.  But  the  Spanish  armada  was  then  about  to  sail 
for  England.  All  means  of  defense  were  needed  there,  and  the  colony  at  Roauoke  was  of  necessity 
left  to  its  own  resources.  In  the  spring  of  1590,  however,  John  White  again  sailed  with  three 
vessels,  but  could  find  no  trace  of  the  Roauoke  settlement.  The  name  "  Croatan,"  cut  in  a  tree,  was 
taken  as  intimating  that  the  colonists  had  gone  there,  but  White  encountered  heavy  and  continuous 
tempests  and  was  forced  to  leave  the  unsafe  roadstead  at  Hatterae.  At  Roanoke  he  lost  many  of 
his  best  men,  and  some  boats  and  anchors.  This  was  the  last  of  a  series  of  unfortunate  expeditions 
to  Roauoke.  Raleigh  and  his  associates  had  expended  much  money,  ;yid  had  fitted  out  about  twenty 
vessels.  More  than  two  hundred  colonists  perished  in  the  settlement. 
H.  Ex.  43 64 


506  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

COAST  OF  NEW  ENGLAND,  1602-1605. 

After  the  time  of  Verrazano  and  Estevan  Gomez  (1524-'25)  and  the  voyage  of  the  English 
ships  in  1527,  we  know  not  of  any  expedition  to  the  shores  of  New  England  until  the  year  1602. 
The  French  expeditions  under  Cartier  and  his  successors  were  confined  to  the  region  of  Canada. 
The  voyage  of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  was  intended  for  the  acquisition  of  Newfoundland,  but  was 
unfortunate.  His  vessel,  when  returning,  foundered  at  sea,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1583.  At 
that  period  many  French,  Portuguese,  and  English  fishermen  resorted  to  the  same  quarter,  but 
nothing  was  thus  added  to  geographical  knowledge.  The  maps  were  such  as  were  given  by  Gomez 
and  Verrazano;  and  the  coast  was  designated  generally  as  Norumbega.  A  great  river  was  marked 
with  that  name,  but  on  somemaps  "  Bio  de  Gamas,"  i.  e.,  Deer  Kiver.  The  island  "Claudia,"  mentioned 
by  Verrazano,  was  graphically  conspicuous ;  but  the  configuration  of  the  coast  was  very  erroneously 
represented;  on  some,  so  prominent  a  feature  as  the  Bay  of  Fundy  is  not  shown.  By  Spaniards 
the  region  was  mentioned  as  the  "Northern  parts  of  Florida."  The  French  named  it  "Nouvelle 
France";  and  after  Kaleigh's  expedition  the  English  styled  it  as  the  "  Northern  parts  of  Virginia." 

After  White's  unfortunate  voyage  in  1590,  twelve  years  elapsed  without  further  action  on  this 
part  of  the  Atlantic  coast. 

GOSNOLD  AND  GILBERT,  1602. 

Capt.  Bartholomew  Gosnold  sailed  in  a  small  bark,  with  thirty-two  men,  on  the  26th  of 
March,  1602,  from  Falmouth,  England.  From  the  Azores  he  steered  due  west,  but  all  preceding 
navigators,  in  sailing  for  America,  shaded  their  course  for  the  West  Indies.  He  reached  the  coast 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  forty-third  parallel,  and  there  his  men  took  great  numbers  of  codfish.  The 
nearest  cape  received  at  that  time  the  name  "Cape  Cod,"  and  the  Indians  were  found  in 
possession  of  some  European  implements.  Gosnold,  sailing  southward,  passed  the  island  ot 
Nantucket,  but  went  ashore  at  the  next  and  named  it  "  Martha's  Vineyard,"  because,  as  he  says, 
it  abounded  in  strawberries  and  other  fruits.  He  found  also  deer  and  other  animals.  In  crossing 
to  the  mainland  he  passed  several  small  islands.  His  men  were  willing  to  remain,  but  not  being 
well  provided,  they  sailed  eastward,  and  arrived  in  England  on  the  23d  of  July,  1602. 

MARTIN  PRING,  1603. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  Gosuold,  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Bristol  (John  Whitson),  the 
historian  Eichard  Hakluyt,  and  other  gentlemen,  formed  acompany  and  fitted  out  two  vessels, 
which  were  placed  in  command  of  Martin  Pring.  He  was  accompanied  by  liobert  Salterue,  who 
had  been  one  of  Gosnold's  pilots.  The  vessels  reached  the  coast  of  America  somewhat  north  of 
the  forty-third  parallel.  The  country  seen  was  high  and  covered  with  woods,  and  hence  the  laud- 
fall  was  certainly  north  of  Cape  Cod.  It  was  probably  in  the  neighborhood  of  Penobscot  Bay. 
He  named  an  island  "  Fox  Island,"  and  going  southwest  he  entered  several  rivers,  and  finally 
passed  into  Cape  Cod  Bay,  which  had  been  missed  in  the  preceding  year  by  Captain  Gosuold. 
After  lading  his  vessel  with  sassafras,  which  was  an  object  of  trade  with  the  first  explorers  of  the 
coast  of  New  England,  Pring  sailed  eastward  and  reached  home  in  October,  1603. 

BARTHOLOMEW  GILBERT,  1603. 

An  ineffectual  attempt  was  made  by  Captain  Samuel  Mace,  in  1602,  to  settle  in  Virginia.  In 
that  year  Bartholomew  Gilbert  had  been  with  Gosnold  to  seek  out  the  position  of  the  settlers  left 
in  those  parts  by  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh  in  the  year  1587,  but  he  was  unfortunate.  He  landed  near 
the  entrance  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  but  was  slain  by  Indians,  with  his  principal  men.  So,  without 
effecting  anything  in  the  way  of  exploration,  the  vessel  returned  to  England  in  charge  of  Master 
Henry  Sute. 

SIEUR  DE  MONTS  AND  CHAMPLAIN,   1605. 

Henry  IV  of  France  commissioned  the  Sieur  de  Monts,  a  very  enterprising  navigator,  to 
conquer  and  settle  the  countries  in  La  Nouvelle  France  between  the  40th  and  4f>th  parallels  of 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  507 

latitude,  and  to  him  the  King  issued  a  commission  as  lieutenant-general  of  such  territory  in 
America. 

De  Monts  sailed  on  the  7th  of  March,  1604,  from  Havre,  and  by  the  usual  route  of  French 
vessels  reached  Newfoundland,  Campseau,  and  1'Acadie  [Nova  Scotia].  He  continued  westward^ 
and  finally  passed  southward  to  the  40th  parallel.  Passing  around  Cape  Sable  he  entered  what 
was  then  called  "  La  Baye  Franchise,"  but  which  is  now  known  as  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  On  the 
24th  of  June  (day  of  John  the  Baptist),  he  entered  a  river  mouth,  and  hence  the  name.  One  of 
his  officers  examined  the  river  to  a  distance  of  50  leagues.  From  the  St.  John  Kiver,  De  Mouts,  who 
on  this  voyage  was  accompanied  by  the  Sieur  Champlain,  went  24  leagues  further  westward  and 
entered  Passamaquoddy  Bay.  They  settled  upon  an  island  in  Schoodic  Eiver,  and  named  it 
"Isle.de  St.  Croix."*  After  deciding  to  winter  in  the  place,  the  larger  vessels  were  sent  to  France. 
The  winter  being  severe,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  seek  a  place  for  settlement  further  southward^ 
but  it  seems  probable  that  they  went  no  further  than  Penobscot  Bay.  The  configuration  of  the 
entrance,  in  the  descriptions  of  De  Monts  and  L'Escarbot,  is  compared  to  the  figure  of  the  Greek 
letter  Lambda.  Further  west  De  Mouts  entered  another  large  river  which  the  Indians  called 
"Kinibeke;"  and  in  the  same  direction  a  bay  was  entered  and  named  "La  Baye  de  Marchiu,"  after 
a  French  officer.  This  no  doubt  is  what  is  known  as  Casco  Bay. 

Near  Cape  Cod  the  party  remained  for  some  days,  and  gave  it  the  designation  "  Cape  Male, 
barre."  But,  being  then  short  of  provisions,  the  vessels  returned  to  St.  Croix.  De  Monts  was 
succeeded  by  the  Sieur  du  Pont,  who  fitted  out  a  vessel  at  Port  Royal,  in  Nova  Scotia.  He  was 
thrice  driven  back  by  storms,  and  in  a  third  attempt  the  bark  was  wrecked.  The  crew  was 
saved,  but  the  disaster  brought  to  a  close  French  enterprise  on  the  coast  of  New  England. 

CAPTAIN  GEORGE  WEYMOUTH,  1605. 

Early  in  the  reign  of  James  I  of  England,  maritime  research  was  active.  Two  of  the  patrons 
of  that  period  were  Thomas  Arnndel,  Baron  of  Wardour,  and  Henry,  Earl  of  Southampton.  They 
employed  Wey mouth  and  fitted  out  tor  him  a  vessel  with  the  requisite  provisions,  and  a  crew  Of 
twenty-nine  men.  Weymouth  sailed  from  England  while  De  Monts  was  near  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
and  both  navigators  passed  along  the  eastern  coast  of  America.  The  first  named  came  within 
sight  of  the  coast  near  Cape  Cod  in  the  middle  of  May,  1605,  and  anchored  in  what  he  calls  "  Pen 
tecost  Harbor,"  because  it  was  entered  on  Whitsunday,  as  stated  in  Captain  Smith's  narrative. 
The  coast  was  high  and  studded  with  islands,  and  high  mountains  were  seen  in  the  interior.  This 
Pentecost  Harbor  is  supposed  to  be  the  mouth  of  St.  George's  Kiver.  The  island  lying  out  sea. 
ward  Weymouth  named  St.  George  Island.  There  Weymouth  planted  pease,  barley,  and  garden 
seeds,  and  early  in  June,  1605,  explored  Penobscot  Bay,  which  in  the  same  year  the  Frenchman, 
De  Monts,  had  examined  and  named  Pentagoet.  In  the  middle  of  June  Weymouth  sailed  for 
England. 

CAPTAIN  CHRISTOPHER  NEWPORT,   1606. 

The  expeditious  of  Gosnold,  Pring,  Weymouth,  Gilbert,  and  others,  were  fitted  out  by  separate 
companies,  but  these  were  by  order  of  the  king  (James  the  First)  placed  under  the  same  General 
Council  of  Government.  He  declared  that  Virginia  belonged  to  England  by  old  and  later  discov 
eries,  and  that  explorations  had  been  extended  from  the  34th  to  the  45th  parallel  of  north  latitude. 
By  royal  order  the  region  was  to  be  regarded  as  divided  between  North  Virginia  and  South  Vir 
ginia,  the  division  line  being  about  midway  between  the  30th  and  40th  parallels.  The  exploration 
and  settlement  of  South  Virginia  he  committed  to  the  London  Company;  North  Virginia  was  given 
to  the  so-called  Plymouth  Colony,  and  ample  privileges  were  granted  to  both. 

In  August,  1600,  the  London  Company  sent  out  a  vessel  in  command  of  Henry  Challons,  but 
he  was  seized  by  the  Spaniards.  At  the  end  of  the  same  year  the  same  company  fitted  out  three 
ships  and  provided  them  with  means  for  a  plantation.  The  expedition  was  intrusted  to  Captain 
Christopher  Newport  and  sailed  from  England  on  the  19th  of  December,  1606.  As  usual  the  course 
was  by  way  of  the  West  Indies.  Southern  entrances  were  at  that  time  regarded  as  bad  harbors, 


'  Now  called  Neutral  Island.    See  Williamson's  History  of  Maine. 


508  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

but  Chesapeake  Bay  from  the  time  of  the  earliest  Spanish  navigators  was  in  esteem  for  safety,  and 
is  so  represented  on  the  map  of  the  neighborhood  of  Koauoke  drawn  in  the  year  1590.  On  the  26th 
of  April,  Newport  entered  the  bay  and  named  the  south  side  of  the  entrance  "Cape  Henry,"  in 
honor  of  the  English  prince  of  that  name.  The  bay  was  sounded  .and  some  of  the  river  mouths. 
Near  one  of  the  anchorages  the  land  was  named  "  Point  Comfort,"  but  what  is  now  •'  Newport  News" 
was  by  him  designated  "Archer's  Hope."  Passing  8  leagues  further  up  the  river  a  little  settle 
ment  was  made  and  was  named  "  Jamestown"  in  honor  of  the  King.  The  building  of  the  fort  there 
was  commenced  on  the  14th  of  May,  1607.  Ten  days  afterward  a  cross  \vas  erected  and  the  name 
"King's  River"  was  applied.  Captain  Smith  calls  it  "  Powhatan  Kiver,"  after  the  noted  chieftain, 
but  it  is  probably  the  same  river  which  was  previously  known  to  Spaniards,  aiid  which  they  had 
marked  as  "Kio  del  Espiritu  Santo."  In  the  middle  of  June  the  fort  at  Jamestown  was  complete. 
Captain  Newport  left  at  the  settlement  104  persons  and  then  returned  to  England. 

ID  the  early  experience  of  the  colonists  dissensions  were  frequent,  but  all  matters  there  event 
ually  came  under  the  control  of  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  and  moreover  of  adventurous 
spirit. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH,  1608. 

Smith  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the  Austrian  army,  against  the  Turks,  and  had  traveled  much 
abroad.  When  the  two  companies  were  formed  for  colonization  in  Virginia,  Smith  became  inter 
ested  and  accompanied  Newport.  By  the  King  he  was  named  as  one  of  the  councillors  of  the  new 
colony.  When  the  settlement  at  Jamestown  was  deemed  secured,  Smith  led  in  succession  exploring 
parties  toward  the  interior,  and  finally,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1608,  made  an  exploration  of  the 
shores  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  At  this  time  nothing  was  known  respecting  either  its  extent  or  its 
direction.  With  an  open  barge  Smith  set  out  from  Jamestown  on  the  2d  of  June,  1608,  with  14 
persons.  He  was  accompanied  by  Walter  Eussell,  a  physician. 

Smith,  from  the  mouth  of  James  River,  crossed  the  bay  and  began  the  examination  at  Cape 
Charles.  The  first  island  on  which  they  lauded  was  named  "  Smith's  Isle,"  and  from  thence  he 
passed  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay,  towards  the  north.  The  next  group  of  islands  was 
named  "  Russell's  Islands."  These  are  in  Tangier  Sound.  Sailing  further  he  named  a  group 
"Limbo  Isles,"  and  a  point  south  of  these  was  marked  "Point  Ployer."  Crossing  to  the  western 
shore  the  party  examined  the  Patuxeut  and  the  Patapsco,  but  his  men  were  then  tired  of  hard 
ships  in  an  open  barge.  Smith  was  constrained  to  return  without  having  seen  the  head  of  the 
bay  or  settling  the  question  whether  it  did  or  did  not  lead  towards  China.  On  the  16th  of  June 
they  entered  the  Potomac  and  went  up  as  far  as  the  draught  of  the  boat  would  allow,  probably  as 
high  up  the  stream  as  the  site  of  Washington  or  Georgetown.  He  then  returned,  entered  the  Rap- 
pahaunock,  and  explored  its  course.  Near  by  he  was  wounded  in  the  hand  by  a  fish,  and  to  mark 
the  place  he  applied  the  name  "  Stingray  Island,"  which  holds  in  the  vicinity  at  this  day. 

On  the  21st  of  July  Smith  was  again  at  Jamestown,  but  on  the  24th  set  out  again  along  the 
western  shore  of  the  bay  and  soon  reached  the  head.  He  entered  the  Susquehanna,  which  he 
named  after  the  Susquehannocks,  an  Indian  tribe  settled  on  its  shores,  and  he  must  have  passed 
well  into  what  is  now  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  as  he  marks  part  of  the  river  as  "  Smith's 
Falls."  Another  branch  of  the  bay  he  named  Tockwough,  and  it  is,  probably,  Sassafras  River. 

The  Indians  along  the  Chesapeake  mentioned  to  Smith  that  another  great  water  existed 
beyond  the  hills,  and  he  judged  it  to  be  a  lake  or  river  of  Canada ;  but  it  seems  more  likely 
that  the  Indians  referred  to  Delaware,  Bay  and  River. 

After  exploring  the  principal  branches  of  the  Chesapeake,  Smith  again  reached  Jamestown 
on  the  7th  of  September,  1608.  He  states  that  the  aggregate  of  water  courses  examined  was 
about  3,000  miles.  His  map  of  the  region  is  creditable  in  point  of  accuracy,  and  was  copied 
many  times  in  the  century  following  his  time.  He  was  elected  president  of  the  colony  and  held 
oflicc  until  the  autumn  of  the  year  1609.  By  an  accidental  explosion  of  gunpowder  he  was 
wounded  and  felt  himself  constrained  to  return  to  England.  After  his  departure  no  action  wss 
taken  in  furtherance  of  his  wishes  in  regard  to  exploration.  He  had  been  previously  on  the 
coast  of  New  England,  and  hence  his  name  will  be  again  mentioned  iu  this  paper. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  509 

CAPTAINS  POPHAM  AND   RALEIGH  GILBERT,  1607. 

The  Plymouth  Company  made  an  attempt  to  settle  a  colony  in  the  year  1606,  as  had  been 
done  by  the  London  Company.  In  the  interest  of  the  first-named  company  Captain  Thomas 
Hanhani  went  to  New  England  and  explored  the  havens  and  harbors,  but  no  details  can  be  found 
respecting  his  movements.  But,  in  the  following  year,  the  same  company  fitted  out  two  ships 
and  sent  in  them  a  hundred  men  under  command  of  Capts.  George  Popham  and  Raleigh  Gilbert. 
They  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  31st  of  May,  1607,  and  passing  westward  made  laud  at  Mon- 
hegan  Island  on  the  coast  of  Maine.  Near  by,  they  entered  a  navigable  river  named  Sagadahock 
and  there  formed  a  settlement;  but  finding  the  place  inconvenient  they  moved  to  Small  Point, 
a  few  miles  west  of  the  mouth  of  Kennebec  River.  When  preparations  were  complete  for  winter 
the  vessels  sailed  on  the  5th  of  December  for  England. 

The  winter  proved  to  be  unusually  severe  and  the  settlers  suffered  in  consequence  of  the  cold. 
Moreover,  the  Indians  were  hostile.  George  Popham  and  some  others  died.  In  the  spring  of 
1608  other  vessels  arrived  with  supplies,  but  the  colonists  were  already  discouraged  and  concluded 
to  return  to  England.  The  death  of  a  brother  in  England  necessitated  the  departure  of  Gilbert. 

In  England  the  returning  North  Virginian  settlers  gave  unfavorable  reports  respecting  the 
region  and  represented  that  it  was  uninhabitable  for  Englishmen. 

CAPTAIN   SAMUEL   ARGALL,   1613. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  coast  voyage  by  De  Monts  in  the  year  1605,  and  of  the 
unfortunate  attempt  by  the  Sieur  du  Pont  in  1C06.  The  French  still  regarded  themselves  as  owners 
of  the  coast,  though  of  late  years  the  English  had  visited  the  region  oi'teuer.  In  the  year  1608  the 
Fathers  Biard  and  Masse  went  to  Nova  Scotia,  but  soon  disagreed  with  the  French  governor,  and 
sought  another  place  for  settlement.  On  Mount  Desert  Island  they  constructed  and  fortified 
a  habitation,  planted,  and  passed  some  years.  Five  years  later  they  were  joined  by  thirty 
of  their  countrymen,  who  founded  a  settlement  of  the  name  of  Saint  Sauveur,  which  was 
sometimes  called  Mount  Mausell.  But,  by  the  English  this  French  lodgment  was  considered  an 
intrusion  on  their  Virginian  possessions.  Captain  Argall  was  therefore  sent  to  displace  the 
intruders.  lie  had  accompanied  other  commanders,  and  hence  had  large  experience  in  coasting. 
In  the  year  1613  he  went  in  charge  of  a  vessel,  and  was  engaged  in  taking  fish  when  a  storm 
forced  him  to  enter  Penobscot  Bay.  At  Mount  Desert  he  found  the  French  settlement  of  Jesuit 
missionaries  and  plundered  it,  and  also  seized  the  only  French  ship  then  in  the  harbor.  Fifteen 
Frenchmen  were  made  prisoners  and  taken  to  Virginia,  and  there  the  fact  that  any  foreign 
settlement  had  been  made  caused  much  anxiety.  The  Governor  immediately  placed  three  armed 
vessels  under  command  of  Argall,  and  he  went  north  to  operate  against  the  French,  as  far  as 
Acadia.  At  Mount  Desert  he  destroyed  all  vestiges  that  remained  after  his  hostile  visit,  and  set 
up  on  the  island  the  arms  of  Great  Britain.  Passing  on  to  Saint  Croix  River  and  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  all  traces  of  French  habitations  there  and  also  at  Port  Royal  were  scattered.  He  then 
returned  to  Virginia.  In  English  publications  and  maps  what  had  been  and  is  now  marked  as 
the  Bay  of  Fundy  was  for  a  long  period  marked  as  The  Bay  of  Argall. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH,   1614. 

Captain  Smith  left  the  Chesapeake  region  in  the  year  1609,  went  to  England,  and  was  there 
active  in  promoting  further  settlements  on  the  coast  of  America.  He  was  regarded  as  a  great 
authority  in  such  matters  by  leading  men  of  the  day.  In  the  year  1612  he  published  his  map  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  accompanied  by  a  description  of  the  country,  and  thus  favored  the  views  and 
interests  of  the  London  Company.  Doubtless  the  Plymouth  Company  desired  similar  advantages 
as  they  soon  engaged  Smith  to  go  out  with  two  ships,  in  company  with  Captain  Hunt.  The 
vessels  sailed  promptly  aiul  made  land  at'  Monhegan  Island  on  the  coast  of  Maine.  There  the 
crew  was  busy  taking  in  a  cargo  of  fish,  while  Smith  with  a  few  hands  went  in  boats  along  the 
coast  as  far  south  as  Cape  Cod.  Three  months  were  passed  in  making  his  survey.  He  entered 
nearly  every  bay  and  harbor,  procured  the  names  of  Indian  tribes,  villages,  and  localities; 
observed  for  longitude  and  latitude,  and  after  his  return  to  England  (August,  1614)  compiled  a 


510  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

map  and  description.  This  was  issued  in  the  year  1820.  In  the  interval,  however,  Smith  made 
(in  1615)  another  attempt  to  reach  America.  He  sailed  from  England  in  March, but  was  captured 
by  French  men-of-war  and  detained  as  a  prisoner  at  liochelle.  When  liberated,  Smith  returned 
to  England  and  there  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  publishing  his  works.  His  first  narrative 
and  map  of  New  England  was  issued  in  the  year  1016;  and  in  token  of  their  regard  the  members 
of  the  Plymouth  Colony  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  title  of  "Admiral  of  Neio  England."  He 
says  that  he  applied  the  name  (New  England)  in  opposition  to  the  French,  as  their  u  New  France'' 
adjoined,  and  as,  moreover,  they  included  Northern  Virginia.  On  the  western  side  of  the  continent, 
under  the  same  degree  of  latitude,  Sir  Francis  Drake  had  landed  and  named  a  country  Neic 
Albion.  Smith  applied  many  new  names,  but  in  the  course  of  time  they  were  disused.  He  says 
that  when  constructing  his  map  several  others,  less  accurate,  were  in  his  hands.  The  latitudes 
assigned  by  Smith  are  good ;  and  the  longitudes  are  better  approximations  than  were  recorded  by 
either  of  his  predecessors. 

Captain  Thomas  Deriner  sailed  from  England  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  1618  and  went  west 
ward  to  Monhegau  Island.  His  vessel  there  tookin  fish  and  furs,  and  returned  to  England. 
Dermer  remained  on  the  coast  of  New  England,  and-  in  a  small  bark  passed  southward  to  some 
part  of  Virginia  in  search  of  a  mine  reported  to  be  there.  He  passed  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  and, 
as  he  says,  "  Discovered  many  goodly  rivers  and  exceedingly  pleasant  and  fruitful  coasts  and 
islands  for  the  space  of  eighty  leagues  from  west  to  east,  between  Hudson  River  and  Cape  James, 
i.  e.,  Cape  Cod."  Neither  maps  nor  journals  were  left  by  Dermer.  He  left  only  a  short  letter  giv 
ing  a  summary  of  his  voyage  from  the  coast  of  Maine  south  to  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  went  south 
ward  on  the  19th  of  May,  1(519,  touched  at  Plymouth  Harbor,  passed  around  Cape  Cod,  and  staid 
some  time  at  Martha's  Vineyard.  In  Long  Island  Sound  he  found  a  "  dangerous  cataract  amongst 
small  rocky  islands,  occasioned  by  two  unequal  tides."  This  mention  marks  the  condition  of  Hell 
Gate  at  that  time.  He  passed  through  New  York  Bay  and  went  south  to  Cape  Charles,  where 
he  anchored  and  made  a  map.  After  his  return  to  the  north  he  wrote  a  narrative  of  the  voyage, 
but  nothing  is  now  known  respecting  the  details  of  either  the  map  or  the  journal. 

Christopher  Levett  was  sent  out  from  England  by  authorities  claiming  the  province  of 
Maine  in  the  year  1623.  He  landed  at  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  and  from  thence  coasted  in  boats  to 
the  eastward  as  far  as  the  Kennebec;  but  on  being  told  by  the  Indians  that  no  place  in  that 
direction  was  favorable  for  settlements,  he  returned  to  his  vessel. 

HENEY    HUDSON,   1609. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1608  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  engaged  the  English  navigator 
Henry  Hudson,  who  had  gained  reputation  by  his  energy  at  sea.  They  gave  him  a  small  vessel, 
The  Half  Moon,  and  commissioned  him  to  explore  the  waters  north  of  Europe  and  Asia,  to  find, 
if  possible,  a  short  northern  passage  to  the  East  Indies.  He  had  been  twice  employed  in  such 
service  by  certain  murchants  of  London. 

Hudson  sailed  from  Amsterdam  on  the  25th  of  March,  1609,  with  a  crew  of  Dutch  and 
English  sailors,  and  passed  by  the  north  coast  of  Europe  towards  Asia.  But  he  was  beset  by  fogs, 
storms,  and  icebergs,  and  was  unable  to  reach  the  well-known  island  of  Nova  Zembla.  It  was 
deemed  best  to  turn  westward,  and  at  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland  be  turned  towards  the  south, 
and  traversed  the  New  England  coast.  At  Peuobscot  Bay  he  went  ashore,  and  also  at  Cape  Cod. 
Keeping  on  southward  he  passed  the  entrance  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  from  the  latitude  of  35° 
41' N.  he  turned  back.  The  dry  journal  of  Juet  says  nothing  in  regard  to  Hudson's  intentions. 
Cleveland,  in  his  Life  of  Hudson,  expresses  the  opinion  that  Capt.  John  Smith,  a  personal 
acquaintance,  had  informed  Hudson  of  his  own  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  western  passage  to 
the  south  of  Virginia.  Not  finding  any  such  passage  he  turned  northward,  and  coasted  along 
the  series  of  sandy  islands  outside  of  the  peninsula  of  Delaware.  He  remarks  "the  coast  is  a 
white  sandj  shore,  and  sheweth  full  of  bays  and  points,  and  all  within  the  land  to  the  northward 
the  water  ramie  with  many  islands  in  it." 

Passing  along  to  Cape  Henlopen,  he  entered,  on  the  28th  of  August,  Delaware  Bay.*     He 

*  Sec  "Historical  inquiry  concerning  Henry  Hudson,  By  John  Meredith  Read,  jr."    Published  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
in  the  year  186C. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  511 

sounded,  wrote  a  description,  and  embodied  sailing  directions,  thus  recording  the  first  mention  of 
any  consequence  after  tLe  examination  by  Oviedo  in  the  year  1545.  If  maps  were  drawn  by 
Hudson,  they  were  not  preserved.  He  sounded  along  the  coast  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  his  journal 
mentions  the  islands  and  inlets.  On  the  2d  of  September  he  had  in  sight  the  hills  of  Navesiuk, 
and  says  "they  are  a  very  good  land-mark  to  fall  with  and  a  pleasant  land  to  see."  He  describes 
Sandy  Hook,  but  named  it  Colmarfs  Point,  because  one  of  his  men  (John  Colman)  was  wounded 
there  by  an  Indian  arrow,  and  died.  On  the  llth  of  September  Hudson  passed  the  Narrows  and 
entered  New  York  Bay.  Finding  that  the  water  soon  freshened,  the  passage  was  regarded  as  a 
river,  and  he  passed  up  to  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  city  of  Albany.  Laet  says  that  Hudson 
named  the  river  "  Mnnhuttes  "  after  an  Indian  tribe  that  lived  near  the  entrance. 

On  the  4th  of  October  Hudson  sailed  for  England.  The  Dutch  East  India  Company,  seeing 
the  probable  importance  of  his  discovery,  sent  out  vessels  to  that  region,  but  the  only  narrative 
of  these  several  expeditions  now  known  is  that  of  De  Vries,  in  the  year  1632.  After  the  time  of 
Hudson,  the  region  was  explored  by  Adrian  Block  and  Hendrick  Christiansen,  but  the  routes 
they  followed,  and  even  the  year  of  their  voyage,  are  uncertain.  It  was  probably  between  the 
years  1610  and  1612.  Both  of  these  commanders  were  on  the  shores  of  New  Belgium  for  the 
second  time  in  the  year  1614,  with  five  ships.  Block  then  explored  the  East  Eiver  and  passed 
through  Long  Island  Sound.  He  sailed  up  the  Connecticut  Eiver  to  the  site  now  occupied  by 
the  city  of  Hartford. 

The  East  India  Company  annually,  until  the  year  1618,  sent  out  some  ships,  but  at  the  date 
mentioned  the  pririleges  of  the  company  expired.  Private  voyages  were  made  to  the  region  of 
the  Hudson  until  the  year  1621,  when  the  West  India  Company  was  chartered,  and  two  years 
later  expeditions  went  out  and  soon  gave  names  which  appear  on  the  early  Dutch  maps  of  that 
quarter. 

Cornelius  Jacobs  May.  in  the  year  1614,  was  with  Block  and  Christiansen  in  the  New 
Netherlands.  He  was  again  sent  out  in  the  year  1623  by  the  West  India  Company,  and  took  the 
lead  of  marine  affairs  for  the  States  General,  and  also  for  New  Netherlands,  on  the  Hudson  Eiver. 
Under  the  direction  of  the  company,  May  led  the  first  Dutch  colony  to  settle  along  the  Hudson. 
He  explored-  eastward  as  far  as  Cape  Cod,  and  from  thence  passed  southward  and  entered 
Delaware  Bay,  which  he  called  the  "  South  Eiver  in  the  Southwest."  His  countrymen  named 
lower  New  York  Bay  "  the  Port  May  ;  "  Delaware  Bay  they  marked  as  "  New  Port  May,"  and  its 
entrance  capes,  "  Cape  May  "  and  "  Cape  Cornelius."  Hudson,  in  the  year  1609,  had  entered,  but 
turned  without  passing  into  the  bay.  May  stopped  in  the  Delaware  at  the  site  of  Philadelphia, 
and  near  it  established  the  first  Dutch  settlement,  and  for  its  defense  built  Fort  Nassau. 

DAVID  PIETEKSZ  DE  VRIES,  1632. 

De  Vries  led  an  expedition  to  Newfoundland  and  another  to  the  East  Indies.  At  his  return 
to  Amsterdam  in  the  year  1631,  he  formed  with  Samuel  Godyn  and  other  Dutch  merchants  a 
company  for  exploring  and  settling  on  the  Delaware  Eiver  (then  known  as  South  Eiver)  and  for 
whale  fishing  in  that  vicinity. 

The  company  sent  out  a  vessel  under  Captain  Peter  Heyes  to  South  Eiver,  and  at  the  mouth 
a  small  fort  was  built.  But  the  enterprise  was  not  successful.  Only  one  whale  was  taken,  and 
the  garrison  of  thirty  men  was  unable  to  resist  an  Indian  attack,  and  all  the  defenders  were 
killed. 

In  the  following  year  De  Vries  arrived  in  person  with  two  vessels.  He  sailed  from  the  Texel 
on  the  24th  of  May,  1632,  and  reached  the  entrance  of  the  Delaware  on  the  3d  of  December.  The 
vessels  anchored  near  a  place  which  he  calls  Swanendael,  and  there  a  settlement  was  commenced. 
With  one  of  the  vessels  the  river  was  examined  and  names  were  given  to  several  localities,  as, 
"Eeed  Island,"  "Wyngaert's  Hill,"  "Vogelsant,"  "Swanendael,"  "  Timmeokill."  and  others, 
but  these  names  soon  disappeared  as  later  maps  were  drawn. 

After  taking  a  few  whales  De  Vries  made  a  visit  to  the  English  settlement  in  Virginia,  and  on 
his  course  explored  the  low  shore  of  the  Delaware  peninsula.  He  returned  from  Virginia  and  was 
again  at  South  Bay  on  the  29th  of  March.  The  crew  of  the  vessel  left  there  had,  in  bis  absence 


512 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 


taken  nine  whales.  That  vessel  was  sent  laden  to  Hudson  River,  and  with  the  smaller  one  he 
closely  examined  the  coast,  but  no  map  is  attached  to  his  account  of  the  coast  features.  From 
Hudson  River  l)e  Vries  returned  to  Amsterdam,  and  arrived  there  on  the  24th  of  July.  Between 
the  years  1636  and  1642  he  made  a  third  voyage  to  New  Netherlands,  but  the  particulars  bearouly 
on  the  early  history  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Nothing  was  thereby  added  to  our  knowledge  of 
coast  hydrography. 

The  development  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States  in  regard  to  essential  features  became 
known  in  a  short  period  by  the  expeditions  of  French  and  English  to  the  shores  of  New  England  ; 
by  voyages  of  the  Dutch  to  Hudson  River  and  vicinity;  and  by  the  English  to  Chesapeake  Bay 
and  vicinity  early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Laet,  the  Dutch  cosmographer,  was  able,  in  the 
year  1624,  to  publish  a  map  showing  the  outlines  and  coast  details  with  considerable  accuracy. 

Titles  of  copies  of  maps  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  or  parts  thereof. 

[Published  between  the  years  1500  and  1770,  and  collected  by  J.  G.  Kohl,  Ph.  D.I 


No. 


Description  of  map. 


Year 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 
in 
11 
19 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 

19 

-.'I) 

21 

216 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 


A  series  of  maps  (Nos.  1  to  16,  inclusive)  under  the  general  title  of  the  "  East  coast,"  as  follows : 

By  Juan  de  la  Cosa 

From  a  map  in  the  edition  of  Ptolemaeus 

By  Diego  Ribero ". 

From  a  map  in  Ptolemaeus 

From  an  Italian  map 

From  a  map  of  the  world  hy  Baptista  Agnese 

From  a  map  of  the  world  by  Diego  Homem 

From  an  English  map  of  J.  Rotz 

From  the  Ptolemaeus  of  Ruscelli 

From  a  French  map  by  N.  Vallard 

From  a  French  map  (author  unknown) 

From  a  map  of  America  by  A.  Joan  Bellero 

From  a  manuscript  map  of  Oxford 

A  map  by  the  Portuguese  geographer  D.  Homem 

A  map  by  Diego  Gutierrez,  a  Spanish  cosmographer 

From  an  old  manuscript  atlas  in  the  British  Museum 

Le  Moy ne's  map  of  Florida 

Italiau  map  of  the  east  coast  by  Zattiery 

The  east  coast  from  a  map  of  Joannes  Marlines 

Map  of  the  east  coast  by  Fernando  Simon 

The  east  coast  after  Michael  Lok 

Map  of  Virginia,  by  De  Bry 

The  east  coast  from  Molinenx's  Globe 

General  map  of  the  east  coast  by  Wytfliet 

(This  number  does  not  occur  either  on  the  maps  or  in  the  explanatory  notes) 

Virginia  (more  particularly  Chesapeake  Bay)  by  Capt.  John  Smith 

\i'\v  England,  by  L'Escarbot 

New  England,  by  Capt.  John  Smith 

New  Netherlands.     From  a  Dutch  map,  the  original  in  the  archives  of  the  Hague 

French  Florida,  by  L'Escarbot 

A  map  of  the  greater  part  of  the  east  coast  by  Capt.  Johu  Smith 

"Ould  Vitginia,"  by  R.  Vaughan  after  Captain  Smith 

A  gc  neral  chart  of  ( part  of)  the  east  coast  of  North  America,  by  J.  de  Lart 

New  England,  by  Joauues  de  Laet 

Coast  of  Florida,  by  de  Laet 

New  Belgium  or  New  Netherlands,  by  Lncini 


1500 
1508 
1529 
1530 
1534 
1534 
154  T 
1542 
154  I 
1547 
lf>50 
1554 
1651 
1558 
1562 
156? 
1565 
1566 
1578 
1580 
1582 
1590 
1592 
15<)7 


1608 
16011 
1614 
1616 
1618 
1624 
1621 
1624 

!<;:  to 
1624 
1631 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  513 

Titles  of  copies  of  maps  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  or  parts  thereof—  Continued. 


No. 


36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 


Description  of  map. 


The  south  part  of  New  England,  by  William  Wood. 

The  first  map  of  Maryland 

The  New  Netherlands,  by  Audriaeu  van  der  Douk.. 

New  Jersey,  by  John  Seller  and  William  Fisher 

Carolina,  by  W.  Hack 

A  chart  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  by  Dr.  B.  Franklin 


Year. 


1634 
1635 
1656 
1C.76 
1684 
1769 

[NOTE. — Dr.  Kohl  has  observed  that  the  first  map  on  which  any  notice  at  all  is  taken  of  the  Gulf  Stream 
is  the  one  copied  by  him  from  a  manuscript  of  John  Dee  in  the  British  Museum  and  bearing  date  of 
1580.  See  No.  15  of  the  collection  of  maps  relating  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  first  delineation  of  the 
course  of  the  Gulf  Stream  on  a  chart  of  the  Atlantic  is  the  one  which  Franklin  had  engraved  from 
data  furnished  by  Captain  Folger,  of  Nautucket,  and  which  he  had  published  by  Mount  and  Page, 
Tower  Hill,  London.  Dr.  Kohl's  copy  of  this  map  bears  no  date,  but  that  given  above  (1769-70)  is 
taken  from  Franklin's  own  account  of  its  origin.] 


42 

43 
44 
45 


Boston  harbor,  by  Henry  Popple 

New  York  and  Perth  Amboy  Harbors,  by  Henry  Popple 

The  town  and  harbor  of  Charlestown  in  South  Carolina,  by  the  same 

The  harbor  of  Saint  Augustine,  by  the  same 

[NOTE. — The  copies  of  maps  above  named  are  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sur 
vey.  There  is  also  on  file  in  the  archives  a  map  of  the  discovery  of  the  East  Coast  of  the  United 
States,  compiled  by  Dr.  Kohl  to  illustrate  his  historical  account,  and  showing  by  colors  the  range 
and  limits  appertaining  to  each  discoverer  and  explorer. 


1733 
1733 
1733 
1733 


ABSTRACT  OF  CONTENTS. 

History  of  the  ditcovery  and  exploration  of  ike  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Columbus  (1492-1502). — Sails  westward  from  the  Isle  of  Pines,  discovered  by  him  in  1494.     On  his  fourth  voyage, 
lfJ02,  is  again  in  the  western  part  of  the  Gulf. 

Sebastian  Caliot  (1497). — Touches  on  the  continent  and  passes  southward  along  the  coast. 

.So/i<  and  I'inzon  (1500). — Reach  the  coast  of  Honduras  and  sail  northward;  how  far  is  uncertain. 

Sebastian  de  Ocampo  (1508). — Examinations  on  the  coast  of  Cuba. 

Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  (151*2). — Examinations  on  the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of  Florida,  and  in  the  approaches  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Diego  Vehixque:  (1511-'14). — Leads  an  expedition  for  the  conquest  and  settlement  of  Cuba. 

Diego  .Vi>H</o  (1510). — Voyages  from  Cuba  to  Florida. 

Cordova  (1517). — Expedition  from  Havana,  Cuba,  to  the  coasts  of  Yucatan. 

Grijalra  and  Alaminus  (1518). — Expedition  fitted  ont  at  Matanzas,  Cuba,  for  the  exploration  of  the  coast  of  Yucatan 
and  of  Mexico. 

|   Fernando  Cortes  (1519). — Commands  the  expedition  fitted  out  at  Havana  and  intended  to.  make  a  thorough  exami 
nation  of  the  coasts  of  Yucatan  and  Mexico.     Founds  a  colony  at  Vera  Cruz,  and  enters  upon  the  conquest  of  Mexico. 

Alvarez  (1519).— Expedition  fitted  ont  under  the  direction  of  the  governor  of  Jamaica.     Examines  the  west  coast 
of  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  and  sails  thence  to  Vera  Cruz. 

Sarraez  (1520). — Commands  an  expedition  fitted  out  by  Velasquez  to  proceed  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  obtain  the  sub 
mission  of  Cortes  to  the  authority  of  Velasquez.  , 

Pineda  and  Camanjo  (1520). — Under  the  auspices  of  the  governor  of  Jamaica  an  expedition  is  fitted  out  for  a  set 
tlement  at  Pannco  on  the  Mexican  coast. 

I'OIHV  de  /.<-o»  (second  expedition  1521).— Expedition  from  Porto  Eico  to  the  Gulf  coast  of  Florida. 

Fra»ri*i-i>  ilc  Hnrai  (1523). — Receives  from  the  King  of  Spain  a  grant  of  the  government  of  a  province  on  the  west 
ern  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Xanaei  (1527-'36). — Expedition  starting  from  San  Lucas  in  Spain  for  the  purpose  of  exploration  and  settlement 
on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

De  Solo  (1539). — Expeditions  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     Exploration  and  settlement  between  Tampa  Bay  and  Apa- 
lachee  Bay. 

Diego  Maldonado  (1540).— Makes  report  to  De  Soto  of  his  discovery  of  and  entrance  into  Pensacola  Bay. 
H.  Ex.  43 65 


514  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

De  Solo  (1541). — Discovers  a  great  river  which  the  Spaniards  named  Rio  Grande,  but  named  subsequently  the 
MiiMssippi. 

Luis  de  Afoscoso,  Maldonado,  and  Aria*  (1542-'43). — Continuation  of  tile  explorations  set  on  foot  by  De  Soto.  Ex 
peditions  to  the  country  south  and  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  descent  ot  that  river  to  the  Delta. 

Andrea  de  Ocampo  (1543). — Explorations  and  travels  in  the  regions  between  Mexico  and  Florida. 

Andre*  de  Olmoi  and  Guido  de  las  Bazaree  (1558). — Expedition  from  Vera  Cruz  for  the  examination  of  the  whole  of 
the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf,  to  find  a  harbor  suitable  for  the  fleet  of  Don  Tristan  de  Luna. 

Don  Pedro  Menendez  (1563-'67). — -Commands  an  extensive  expedition  to  the  Florida  coasts  ;  is  made  Captain-Gen 
eral  of  Florida,  breaks  up  the  French  nettlements  on  the  peninsula,  makes  examinations  and  surveys  011  both  the 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts. 

French  and  English  adventurers  (1555-'67). — Voyages  and  explorations  by  Robert  Tompsou,  Sir  John  Hawkins,  Cap 
tain  William  Michelson,  and  others. 

I'edro  Menendez  Marquez  (1573). — Commissioned  to  make  a  survey  of  the  coasts  of  Florida. 

Rviz,  Lopez,  Antonio  Espejo  andotheri  (1551-'£3).— Explorations  in  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  adjacent  regions.  Name 
given  to  the  province  of  New  Mexico  ;  settlement  of  Santa  F£. 

liobert  de  la  SaUe  (1682-'85). — Plans  an  expedition  to  complete  the  work  of  exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Hiver. 
Descends  the  river  to  the  Delta,  and  sounds  out  and  explores  the  Passes. 

Juan  Enrlqutz  Harrato  (1685). — Commands  an  expedition  to  the  nort  h  coast  of  the  (Jnlf,  and  examines  the  bays  and 
capes  from  Pensacola  Harbor  to  the  westward. 

Andrei  de  Pen  (1693). — Enters  Pensacola  Bay,  examines  its  shores  and  indentations,  and  gives  names  to  its  promi 
nent  capes,  &c.  Proceeds  thence  to  Mobile  Bay  and  to  Lake  Borgne. 

Ibervilte  (1698-'99). — Lands  with  an  expedition  under  his  command  at  Danphin  Island  ;  takes  soundings  in  the 
vicinity,  names  Biloxi  Bay  and  Pascagoula  River,  also  Lakes  Manrepas  and  Pontchartrain. 

De  Tonti  (1700-'04). — Having  accompanied  La  Salle  in  his  several  expeditious,  and  having  passed  four  times  up 
and  down  the  Mississippi,  dies  at  Mobile  Bay. 

St.  Denis  (1714-'19). — Under  the  direction  of  M.  Crozat,  manager  of  the  French  colony  in  Louisiana,  traverses 
Texas  and  Mexico  ;  returns  to  Mobile,  and  prepares  maps  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  countries. 

Lemoynede  JSienville  (1717-$0). — Sends  out  expeditions  under  his  direction  as  governor  of  Louisiana  to  establish 
settlements  and  military  posts  on  the  north  coast  of  the  Gulf.  Founds  a  colony  in  1718  on  the  present  site  of  new 
Orleans.  Arrival  of  Father  Laval,  a  French  astronomer  of  distinction,  who  determines  latitude  at  a  station  on  Dauphin 
Island. 

Htmard  de  la  Harpe  (1721). — Commands  an  expedition  for  establishing  French  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Texas. 

Father  Charlevoix  (1722). — As  an  explorer,  and  as  the  historian  of  early  times  in  the  northern  region  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  occupies  a  conspicuous  place. 

French  and  Spanish  commanders  on  the  Gulf  coast  and  on  the  peninsula  of  Florida  (1718  and  later).—  Contests  for  the 
possession  of  Saint  Joseph's  Bay,  Pensacola  Harbor,  and  other  points  on  the  Gulf  coast  between  French  and  Spanish 
commanders. 

U.  S.  Coast  Survey  (1646).— Geodetic  operations  on  the  coast  of  the  (!nlf  of  Mexico  begun  by  the  I'uited  States 
Coast  Survey. 

COLUMBUS,  1492-1502. 

On  his  first  arrival  in  the  western  hemisphere  Columbus  regarded  as  islands  all  the  land  then 
seen.  No  chart  of  that  time  is  extant,  except  what  may  be  considered  as  such  in  the  armorial 
bearings  ordered  by  the  King  of  Spain  at  the  end  of  May,  1493.  Spotorno  gives  a  fac-simile  of  the 
map,  and  Oviedo  makes  mention  of  it.  He  says  :  "  On  this  chart  are  seen  islands  lying  in  a  gulf 
which  is  formed  by  tierra  Jirme  of  the  Indies,  and  upon  the  tierra  Jirme  <rf  the  chart  are  represented 
palm  trees,  other  evergreens,  and  gold  clumps." 

On  his  second  expedition  Columbus  sailed  along  the  south  shore  of  Cuba,  and  early  in  June. 
1494,  was  at  the  Isle  of  Pines,  and  beyond  it  he  sailed  some  distance.  Strangely,  he  regarded  the 
region  as  being  part  of  the  East  Indies,  and  turned  without  discovering  Mexico.  On  his  fourth 
voyage  (in  July,  1502),  Columbus  was  again  in  the  western  part  ot  'the.  Gulf,  but  did  not  reach 
Yucatan.  He  never  touched  on  the  mainland  of  the  continent  of  America. 

SEHASTIAN  CABOT,    14'.I7. 

The  continent  was  touched  on  by  Cabot  on  the  24th  of  June,  14!t7.  This  was  previous  to  the 
third  voyage  of  Columbus.  From  his  western  landfall  he  passed  along  the  coast  southward,  but 
the  limit  reached  iu  that  direction  is  somewhat  uncertain.  The  only  early  chart  marked  with  the 
discoveries  of  Cabot  is  that  of  Juan  deCosa,  of  the  year  1500,  referred  to  by  Humboldt  and  Walk- 
enaer.  On  it  Cuba  is  represented  as  an  island,  and  the  continental  shore  line  runs  to  the  north  and 
to  the  west  of  Cuba. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  515 

JUAN  DIAZ  DK  SOUS  AND  V1XCENTK  YAXEZ  P1NZON,  1506. 

In  1454  Columbus  had  intimated  that  uo  passage  was  practicable  around  tbe  coast  of  Cuba,  and 
his  declaration  seems  to  have  checked  somewhat  the  progress  of  discovery  in  that  region.  The 
effect  was  to  divert  attention  to  the  southward  and  westward,  and  thus  the  outline  of  the  Carib 
bean  Sea  became  known  while  the  north  and  west  shore  of  the  Gull  of  Mexico  was  yet  unexplored. 
Solis  aud  Pinzon  sailed  from  Hispauiola  and  reached  the  coast  of  Honduras.  Fernando  Colum 
bus  says  they  had  a  pilot,  Pedro  de  Ledesma,  who  had  been  in  the  same  region  with  Christopher 
Columbus.  They  sailed  along  the  cost  of  Honduras  aud  steered  northward,  but  the  limit  of  their 
navigation  cannot  be  marked  with  certainty.  In  the  biography  of  his  father,  Fernando  Columbus 
says  that  Solis  and  Pinzou  made  a  chart  of  the  newly  discovered  regions,  but  no  copy  of  such 
chart  is  known  to  us. 

SEBASTIAN  DE  OCAMPO,  1508. 

Herrera  says  (in  1507)  that  King  Ferdinand  of  Spain  regarded  his  officers  as  delinquent, 
because  so  many  years  had  elapsed  without  settling  the  question  as  to  the  insular  character  of  Cuba- 
He  therefore  sent  an  order  to  his  Governor-General  of  the  West  Indies,  Don  Nicolas  de  Ovando,  to 
n't  out  an  expedition.  Two  vessels  were  sent  under  Captain  Sebastian  de  Ocampo,  who  had  been 
with  Columbus  in  voyages  to  Hispaniola.  The  navigation  was  difficult,  and  the  vessels  needing 
repairs,  a  port  was  entered  on  the  noith western  coast  of  Cuba,  and  there  some  time  was  passed  in 
refitting.  The  place  he  designated  as  Puerto  de  Carenas  [harbor  of  careening],  but  it  is  not  doubt 
ful  that  the  port  was  Havana.  Ocampo  sailed  along  the  south  coast  of  Cuba,  going  eastward. 
Near  the  Isle  of  Pines  he  crossed  the  track  followed  by  Columbus  in  1494,  and  returned  to  Hispan 
iola  after  being  eight  months  at  sea.  There  is  no  complete  journal  nor  record  of  nautical  and 
astronomical  observations  made  by  Ocampo,  but  he  was  certainly  the  first  man  who  discovered  the 
prospective  importance  of  the  harbor  of  Havana. 

In  the  year  1512  Diego  Velasquez  marched  in  the  interior  of  Cuba,  and  Ponce  de  Leon,  sailing 
from  Porto  Rico,  traversed  part  of  the  shores  of  that  great  island.  In  the  year  following,  a  map 
was  printed  in  Europe,  showing  to  the  northwest  of  Cuba  a  gulf  and  a  peninsula,  and  it  was  prob 
ably  an  attempt  to  represent  Florida  aud  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  map  is  give'n  in  the  Strasburg 
edition  of  Ptolemaeus,  of  the  year  1513.  On  it  is  depicted  to  the  northwest  of  Cuba  a  continent 
marked  with  the  name  Parias,  which  designation  was  somewhat  common  on  early  maps  of  the 
American  continent.  The  author  of  the  map  here  especially  referred  to  was  John  Schott.  At 
that  time  such  publications  were  suppressed  in  Spain.  The  map  has  no  reference  to  Ponce  de 
Leon,  nor  is  it  marked  with  the  name  Florida,  nor  with  auy  other,  pertaining  to  his  adventures. 
He  regarded  Florida  as  an  island,  and  it  is  so  represented  on  the  map. 

On  a  chart  of  the  year  1508  Cuba  is  marked  as  an  unfinished  discovery,  showing  only  part  of 
the  northern  and  part  of  the  southern  shore,  and  it  bears  the  inscription,  "  So  far  came  the  ships 
of  King  Ferdinand  of  Spain."  Evidently  the  parts  shown  were  such  as  had  been  seen  by  Colum 
bus.  Ruisch,  the  compiler  of  the  map,  knew  nothing  of  the  map  of  Cosa,  which  was  made  in  the 
year  1500. 

Near  the  end  of  the  year  1510,  or  possibly  some  months  later,  a  vessel  went  from  Hispaniola 
for  the  capture  of  Indians.  Thirty  men  were  on  board.  By  a  storm  the  vessel  was  forced  into 
the  Gulf  of  Florida,  and  was  wrecked.  All  the  crew  were  killed  by  the  natives,  excepting  two 
women  and  one  man,  who  were  given  as  slaves  to  a  cacique  of  the  Indian  district  near  Havana. 
There  the  captives  lived  until  liberated  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  by  Diego 
Velasquez.  The  port  in  which  the  misfortune  happened,  was  afterwards  called  Puerto  de  Matan- 
zas  [port  of  slaughter],  and  it  still  bears  the  name. 

Velasquez  lauded  in  1511  and  reached  the  middle  parts  of  the  island  in  about  two  years.  He 
learned  that  Spaniards  weie  held  by  the  Indians,  aud  hastened  to  liberate  them.  The  survivor 
assured  Velasquez  that  he  had  been  held  nearly  four  years. 

In  the  year  loll  a  vessel  was  despatched  from  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  commanded  by  Captain 
Valdivia.  to  bring  a  sum  of  gold,  and  to  report  the  state  of  affairs  to  the  Governor-General.  Un 
fortunately  this  vessel  was  wrecked  on  some  rocks  on  the  south  side  of  Jamaica.  Valdivia  and 


516  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

some  of  tlie  crew  in  a  boat  attempted  to  reach  the  coast  of  Cuba,  but  were  swept  westward  by  the 
currents,  and  landed  in  Yucatan.  There  they  were  held  by  the  Indians;  some  were  killed  and 
others  were  kept  as  slaves.  The  only  survivors  were  Geronimo  de  Agnilar  and  Gonzalo  Guerro. 
These  were  alive  when  Cortes  arrived  in  Yucatan,  in  1519,  and  the  first-named,  having  acquired 
the  language  and  much  knowledge  of  the  country,  became  useful  to  the  daring  adventurer. 

JUAN  PONCE  DE  LEON.     1512. 

The  Indians  found  on  Cuba  had  a  tradition  of  a  country  to  the  northward  named  "  CantioJ' 
where  was  a  river  of  which  the  waters  would  restore  youth.  As  Ocampo  passed  eight  months  of 
the  year  1508  in  that  vicinity  it  seems  probable  that  his  report  was  known  to  Ponce  de  Leon,  who, 
for  some  time,  was  governor  of  the  island  of  Porto  Eico.  But  a  similar  story  was  told  of  a  foun 
tain  on  an  island  called  "Simmi,"  to  the  northwest  of  Hispaniola.  Three  years  later  the  governor 
was  superseded,  but  he  had  become  wealthy,  and  fitted  out  at  his  own  cost  three  vessels,  and 
with  them  sailed  on  the  3d  of  March  of  the  year  1512  from  Aguada,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Guanabo.  In  the  middle  of  the  mouth  he  was  at  Guanahaui,  where  Columbus  had  landed.  He 
crossed  the  track  of  Columbus  and  advanced  to  the  northwest.  On  the  27th  of  March,  which 
was  a  festival  day,  called  by  the  Spaniards  "el  Dia  de  Pascna  Florida  de  Resurreccion,"  he  saw 
the  coast  of  a  new  country,  which  he  regarded  as  an  island,  and  this  he  named  "  La  Florida" 
He  coasted  some  distance,  but  finding  no  harbor  turned  back,  as  the  current  was  strong.  With 
some  difficulty  he  rounded  Cape  Canaveral,  and  going  southward  reached  the  Florida  reefs  and 
keys.  On  the  western  coast  of  the  peninsula,  at  a  place  which  cannot  readily  be  identified,  the 
vessels  remained  until  the  3d  of  June.  Next  day  they  were  attacked  by  a  great  fleet  of  canoes. 
Many  Indians  and  a  few  of  the  Spaniards  were  killed,  hence  the  place  was  named  Isla  de 
Matanza ;  i.  e.,  the  island  of  slaughter.  For  some  days,  however,  intercourse  was  maintained  with 
the  natives.  Passing  on  westward,  they  reached  the  Tortugas  on  the  21st  of  June,  and  there  they 
caught  in  a  single  night  one  hundred  and  sixty  large  turtles.  They  killed  also  seals,  pelicans,  and 
other  birds  which  there  abounded.  Three  days  afterwards  they  sailed,  and  again  saw  land  on  the 
26th.  At  the  end  of  the  month  they  entered  a  harbor  to  repair  the  vessels,  but  could  learn  noth 
ing  of  the  country  to  which  it  pertained.  By  most  of  the  party  it  was  believed  to  be  part  of  Cuba, 
as  some  iron  tools  were  seen,  and  trees  that  had  been  cut  by  knives.  Moreover  the  trend  of  the 
coast  was  east  and  west.  On  Friday,  the  1st  of  July,  they  left  the  harbor  and  brought  up  at  some 
islands  of  the  Lucayan  group.  There  they  sought  for  the  island  of  Bimiui,  and  met  with  a  Spanish 
vessel  commanded  by  Diego  Miruelo,  who  was  sailing  on  his  own  account.  Much  was  expected 
from  his  experience  as  a  pilot  in  that  dangerous  quarter,  but  the  vessel  in  which  he  had  joined  the 
fleet  of  Ponce  was  soon  wrecked  in  a  storm,  but  without  loss  of  life.  The  family  to  which  Miruelo 
belonged  afterwards  became  famous  as  Gulf  pilots. 

Ponce  decided  to  sail  homeward,  but  before  starting  despatched  a  vessel  to  renew  the  search 
for  Bimini.  This  was  commanded  by  Juan  Perez  de  Ortubia  and  the  pilot,  Antonio  de  Alaminos. 
Biinini  was  found,  but  nothing  was  seen  of  the  wonderful  fountain.  The  place  was,  however, 
reported  to  be  a  cheerful,  fresh-looking  island,  well  watered,  and  full  of  trees.  Herrera  adds  to 
his  report  on  this  expedition  a  chapter  on  the  nature  and  currents  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  but  as  the 
journals  of  Ponce  de  Leon  were  not  extant,  the  conclusions  in  regard  to  that  marine  feature  are 
doubtless  such  as  occurrrd  to  Herrera  a  century  after  the  time  of  Ponce  de  Leon.  He  probably 
dfew  a  chart  showing  the  contour  of  the  Florida  peninsula,  and  it  seems  likely  that  the  sketch 
given  by  Diego  Ribero,  in  the  year  1529,  was  reduced  from  the  charts  of  Ponce.  In  the  year  1513 
Ponce  de  Leon  went  to  Spain  to  make  report,  but  nothing  can  be  found  of  any  detailed  .statement; 
merely  the  sentence  "to  the  northwest  end  of  Cuba  has  appeared  a  great  country,  which  they 
believe  to  be  a  continent." 

VELASQUEZ,  1511-'14. 

Shortly  after  the  time  of  Ponce  de  Leon  the  gulf  shore  of  Cuba  was  settled  by  Spaniards.  In 
the  year  1511  Don  Diego  Colon,  then  Governor-General  of  the  West  Indies,  resolved  upon  the  con 
quest  of  the  great  island,  of  which  nothing  was  known  to  Europeans  except  that  it  was  a  good 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  f>17 

land,  thickly  inhabited,  and  rich  in  natural  productions.  The  governor  sent  out  Captain  Diego 
Velas<|iie/  with  three  hundred  men  in  four  vessels.  That  commander  was  soon  followed  by 
adventurers  from  Jamaica,  Porto  Rico,  and  other  West  Indian  islands,  and  amongst  them  was 
Sebastian  de  Ocampo,  who  had  passed  around  the  island  in  the  year  1508.  Painphila  de  Narvaez 
arrived  in  1514,  and  marched  partly  on  shore.  He  was  very  active,  and  twelve  years  later  was 
killed  in  Florida.  Both  Velasquez  and  Narvae/  had  been  told  of  the  existence  of  some  Span 
iards  in  the  neighborhood  of  Havana.  These  had  been  shipwrecked  a  few  years  before,  and  with 
a  view  to  their  liberation  Father  Las  Casas  hastened  to  that  region. 

When  Velasquez  had  traversed  and  taken  possession  of  the  gulf  shore  of  the  Island  of  Cuba, 
he  founded,  in  1514,  nearOcampo's  landing  place,  the  town  of  Havana,  and  in  the  same  year  sent 
his  captain,  Narvae/,  to  the  west  end  of  the  island,  now  known  as  Cape  San  Antonio.  At  inter- 
vcning  places  Spanish  settlers  built  houses  and  improved  the  land,  and  this  was  the  tirst  h'rm  foot 
hold  which  the  Spaniards  gained  on  the  shores  of  the  gulf.  The  settlement  on  the  north  coast  of 
Cuba  was  the  foundation  of  future  conquests  and  explorations. 

DIEGO  MIRUELO,  1516. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Spaniards,  settled  by  Velasquez  near  Havana,  built  vessels  as  well  as 
houses,  and  it  seems  likely  that  they  made  visits  into  the  Gulf  of  Florida,  and  perhaps  to  the  Flor 
ida  Keys.  There  was  certainly  a  trading  expedition  from  Havana  in  the  year  1517,  conducted  by 
Pedro  d'Avila,  and  records  show  that  mariners  and  coasting  and  fishing  vessels  were  known  in 
the  port  of  Cuba  in  the  year  1518.  Barcia  states  that  Diego  Mirnelo  went  from  Cuba  to  Florida 
in  the  year  151G,  and  there  traded  with  the  Indians. 

CORDOVA. 

Francisco  Hernandez  de  Cordova  was  a  wealthy  settler  of  Cuba,  who  held  Indians  and  also 
an  estate  near  the  town  of  Espiritu  Santo,  near  the  middle  of  Cuba.  He  was  elected  as  commander- 
in-diief  by  upwards  of  a  hundred  enterprising  young  Spaniards,  who  desired  to  make  discoveries. 
All  of  them  had  come  to  Cuba  from  Darien,  where  the  Governor,  Pedro  Arias  de  Avila,  had  not 
found  sufficient  occupation  for  them.  I5ut  in  Cuba  they  were  too  late.  Velasquez  bad  already 
completed  the  conquest  and  partition  of  the  island.  Cordova,  however,  accepted  the  offer  of  these 
men  who  wished  to  gain  wealth  or  reputation.  He  fitted  out  two  vessels,  and  the  third  was  given 
by  the  Governor  under  the  condition  that  they  should  bring  to  him  a  number  of  Indian  slaves 
from  the  islands  of  the  Guanajos.  The  offer  was  declined  by  Cordova,  who  explained  that  they 
were  concerned  only  in  exploration  and  discovery.  Velasquez  then  gave  them  the  ship  on  their 
own  conditions.  Their  chief  pilot  was  Antonio  de  Alaminos,  and  the  vessel  sailed  on  the  8th  of 
February,  in  the  year  1517,  from  Havana.  Going  westward  the  party  doubled  Cape  San  Antonio 
after  coasting  twelve  days,  and  then  stretched  into  the  sea  westward,  without  knowledge  of  rocksj 
shoals,  currents,  or  winds  that  might  be  encountered.  It  is  not  mentioned  that  they  had  on 
board  a  copy  of  the  chart  of  Columbus  made  in  1502,  nor  of  Solis  and  Pinzon's  chart  of  1506.  The 
only  inducement  to  take  a  western  direction  seems  to  have  turned  on  the  recollections  of  their 
chief  pilot,  Alaminos,  who  remembered  that  Columbus,  with  whom  he  had  sailed  as  a  boy,  had 
always  a  strong  inclination  to  go  westward.  After  a  heavy  storm,  which  lasted  two  d-ays  and 
nights,  the  course  was  changed,  and  twenty-one  days  after  their  departure  from  Cuba  they  came  in 
sight  of  land.  From  the  ship,  they  saw  a  large  Indian  town,  and  when  they  came  to  anchor,  on 
the  4th  of  March,  many  canoes  came  out  to  them,  and  some  were  of  size  sufficient  to  contain  fifty 
Indians.  These,  in  their  intercourse  with  the  Spaniards,  frequently  repeated  the  words  "Con 
escotoch  " !  aud.hence  on  the  chart  the  place  was  marked  "  Punta  de  Cotoche."  •  The  Indian  words 
were  probably  intended  to  express  an  invitation  to  come  ashore. 

After  a  short  land  excursion  to  the  interior,  the  Spaniards  had  a  bloody  encounter  with  the 
Indians,  but  at  the  same  time  found  to  their  great  joy  good  buildings  and  temples,  and  in  them 
idols  and  ornaments  of  gold.  Thus  stimulated,  they  held  along  the  shore  to  the  west,  and 
discovered  points,  bays,  and  many  of  the  shoals  and  reefs  of  that  part  of  Yucatan.  The  pilot, 
Alamiuos,  however,  believed  that  the  newly-found  country  was  an  island,  a  suggestion  as  will  be 


f>18  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

remembered,  made  by  Ponce  de  Leon  in  regard  to  the  peninsula  of  Florida.  On  the  135th  of  March 
they  reached  a  bay,  which  the  Indians  called  "  Quimpeeh,"  but  in  the  Spanish  pronunciation  it  is 
known  to  this  day  as  Cainpeche.  The  natives  hailed  the  adventurers  repeatedly  with  the  word 
"  Castilan,"  at  the  same  time  pointing  toward  the  east.  While  taking  in  water  from  shore  the 
Spaniards  saw  temples  ornamented  like  those  at  Catoche,  but  these  could  not  be  examined,  as  the 
natives  collected  in  great  numbers  and  inarched  in  battle  array.  The  Spaniards  retreated,  but 
brought  off  their  water  casks,  and  after  stowing  them  sailed  away  to  the  southwest  without 
interruption,  favored  during  six  days  by  wind  and  weather.  On  the  seventh  day  a  heavy  north 
wind  caused  the  casks  to  leak,  and  made  it  needful  to  seek  another  anchorage.  They  consequently 
went  into  the  mouth  of  a  river  near  an  Indian  village,  the  name  of  which  was  Pononchau.  Here 
they  found  water  wells,  buildings  of  stone,  maize  plantations,  and  other  signs  of  a  good  state  of 
cultivation  ;  but  trusting  too  far  inland  they  were  attacked  by  natives  in  overwhelming  numbers, 
and  like  those  of  Cainpeche,  the  Indians  uttered  the  cry,  "  Castilan,"  "  Castilan."  In  cutting  their 
way  through  the  mass  of  savages  the  Spaniards  lost  fifty-seven  men  in  killed  and  two  others  were 
carried  away  as  prisoners.  The  boats  were  capsized,  the  water  casks  lost,  and  all  who  reached 
the  ships  were  marked  by  wounds.  The  commander,  Cordova,  was  wounded  in  twelve  places. 
This  sad  event  ended  further  progress,  and  the  place  was  named  by  the  pilot  and  mariners  of  the 
expedition  "  Bahia  de  la  mala  pelea,"  i.  e.,  Bay  of  the  disastrous  fight.  It  was  probably  the  mouth 
of  the  river  now  known  as  the  Champoton. 

The  lessened  foice  being  insufficient  to  work  three  ships,  one  of  the  vessels  was  burnt,  and 
the  party  resolved  to  return  to  Cuba.  They  suffered  for  want  of  fresh  water,  and  consulted  the 
charts.  Alaminos  judged  it  best  to  leave  the  direct  course  and  by  turning  northward  to  make  the 
coast  of  Florida,  and  then  fall  back  to  find  the  harbor  of  Havana.  Only  this  general  fact  is  known. 
That  commander  had,  when  with  Ponce  de  Leon,  crossed  the  Gulf  of  Florida  twice,  and  he  had 
sailed  also  with  Ortubia  amongst  the  Yucatan  Islands.  It  is  probable  that,  with  Ocampo,  he  passed 
entirely  around  the  coast  of  Cuba.  Hence  his  opportunity  was  ample  for  making  observations  on 
the  usual  eastern  direction  of  the  winds  which  blow  into  and  along  the  eastern  gate  of  the  Mexican 
Gulf.  The  vessels  had  a  short  time  before  suffered  by  a  heavy  northeast  gale.  The  expedition 
was  probably  saved  from  further  disaster  by  adopting  the  proposal  of  Alaminos.  Going  north 
and  northeast  the  party  came  in  sight  of  the  coast  of  Florida.  He  landed  with  some  men,  and 
recognized  the  region  which  he  had  seen  in  1512.  By  digging  wells  good  water  was  found,  but 
they  were  attacked  by  Indians  while  so  employed.  In  passing  to  Havana  (by  the  Florida  Keys) 
they  had  only  4  fathoms  of  water,  and  the  largest  vessel  struck  against  rocks,  but  the  exhausted 
crews  at  last  reached  Havana.  The  wounded  captain,  Cordova,  retired  to  his  plantation  near 
Santo  Spiritu.  and  there  died.  Some  of  his  officers  and  men  presented  themselves  to  the  Governor 
(Velasquez)  and  reported  favorably  of  the  new  country.  Some  of  the  products  were  shown,  and 
two  of  the  inhabitants  who  had  been  taken  as  prisoners. 

* 

GRIJALVA  AND  ALAMINOS.  1518. 

Reports  in  regard  to  Yucatan  led  to  the  fitting  out  of  four  ships,  which  were  provided  with  a 
force  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  men.  Juan  de  Grijalva,  a  cousin  of  the  Governor,  and  a  man  of 
energy  and  prudence,  was  at  the  head  of  the  fleet  as  Captain-General.  Pedro  de  Alvarado, 
Francisco  deMontejo,  and  Alonzo  de  Avila,  all  of  whom  afterwards  became  famous  as  companions 
of  Cortes,  were  assigned  to  the  command  of  vessels;  and  some  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  who  had 
been  with  Cordova  joined  the  expedition.  Amongst  others  was  the  chief  pilot,  Antonio  de  Alaminos, 
and  Bernal  Diaz  del  Castilla. 

The  instructions  given  by  Velasquez  to  the  commander  of  this  expedition  are  not  extant,  but 
in  the  instructions  of  the  same  Velasquez,  addressed  to  Cortes  in  the  year  1518,  the  Governor  says 
that,  he  sent  out  Grijalva  principally  for  the  purpose  "of  examining  and  circumnavigating  the 
island  of  Yucatan  and  to  discover  further  onward." 

The  harbor  of  Matanzas,  on  the  coast  of  Cuba,  was  indicated  as  the  general  rendezvous  for 
officers,  men,  and  ships,  and  from  that  place  the  fleet  sailed  on  the  5th  of  April,  1518.  Following 
the  track  of  Cordova's  expedition,  Cape  San  Antonio  was  sighted  in  eight  days,  and  from  thence, 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  519 

after  sailing  ten  days,  they  readied  the  coast  of  Yucatan.  By  the  currents  they  were  carried 
southward  and  h'rst  saw  the  island  of  Cozumel,  to  the  south  of  Cape  Catoche,  on  the  3d  of  May. 
To  Cozuniel  was  then  given  the  name  "Isla  de  Santa  Cruz."  They  followed  the  track  of  Cordova 
to  Ghampoton,  and  there  had  a  fierce  battle,  but  the  savages  of  Yucatan  were  put  to  flight. 
Coasting  farther  they  soon  saw  an  opening  which  was  considered  to  be  the  month  of  a  large  river, 
but,  on  entering,  it  was  found  to  be  a  large  lagoon.  As  late  as  the  year  1550  charts  were  drawn  on 
the  authority  of  Alauiinos  that  show  Yucatan  as  an  island;  and  this  was  long  after  the  pilots  and 
men  of  Grijalva  had  found  out  their  mistake. 

From  the  lagoon  last  mentioned  the  party  sailed  very  cautiously  along  the  unknown  coast, 
moving  only  by  daylight.  On  the  7th  of  June  they  saw  the  mouth  of  a  great  river,  which  was 
entered  by  the  two  smaller  vessels  and  by  all  the  boats.  The  two  larger  vessels  remained  at  anchor 
outside.  Here  the  Indians  assembled  in  thousands,  but  there  was  no  hostile  demonstration. 
Presents  were  interchanged.  Amongst  the  Indians  were  some  trinkets  of  gold;  and  the  occasion 
was  further  remarkable,  as  then  for  the  first  time  the  name  "Mexico"  was  pronounced  in  the 
hearing  of  Spaniards.  When  the  natives  were  asked  where  such  gold  could  be  found  they  pointed 
towards  the  rising  sun  and  pronounced  the  name  "  Mexico."  The  Spaniards  quickly  embarked  for 
the  search,  but  the  river,  which  they  named  Eio  Grijalva,  was  long  after  his  time  known  as  Rio 
Tabasco,  as  bearing  the  name  of  the  cacique  of  the  region. 

An  active  period  followed  in  which  river  mouths  and  other  entrances  were  first  known  to 
Europeans.  The  Rio  de  las  Banderas  became  famous  because  Spaniards  there  found  subjects  of 
the  Indian  Emperor  Monte/uma,  and  possessed  themselves  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  golden 
curiosities.  In  exchange  for  a  few  cheap  European  trinkets  and  blue  beads  they  gained  the  sum 
of  15,000  pesos.  The  next  place  visited  was  that  which  became  the  renowned  port  of  Juan  de 
Ulloa.  This  came  into  view  on  the  18th  of  June,  and  there  some  poor  Indians  had  been  sacrificed 
to  the  pagan  deities.  Hence  the  place  was  named  Isla  de  Sacrificios.  The  island  and  its  name 
stands  on  every  old  chart  of  the  Mexican  Gulf.  At  another  place  on  the  beach  the  Spaniards  built 
huts  and  remained  several  days  exploring  the  vicinity.  On  a  neighboring  island  evidences  ap 
peared  of  the  sacrifice  of  human  beings.  These  were  viewed  by  Grijalva  with  horror,  and  by  an 
interpreter  he  asked  what  had  caused  these  abominations.  The  answer  was,  "Olua"!  "Olua"! 
Hence  the  name  of  the  place  was  marked  on  the  chart  as  ''Ulloa."  This  happened  on  the  day  of 
St.  John,  and  therefore  addition  was  made  to  the  Indian  appellation ;  the  place  was  known  as 
San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  The  region  adjoining  was  named  Saint  Mary  of  the  Snow.  Grijalva  resolved 
to  send  a  message  to  Velasquez  by  Pedro  de  Alvarado  in  the  ship  San  Sebastian ;  and  more 
over  his  party  needed  provisions.  All  the  gold  then  gathered  was  sent,  and  also  written  reports 
from  the  several  officers.  After  Alvarado's  departure  (on  the  24th  of  June)  Grijalva  and  his  men 
started  with  the  remaining  vessels  and  passed  along  the  coast  in  hope  of  further  discoveries.  With 
the^  mountain*  of  Mexico  constantly  in  view,  they,at  last  came  to  a  river,  "Rio  de  Canoas,"  in  the 
province  of  Panuco.  Many  Indian  canoes  made  out  boldly  and  commenced  battle,  but  with  little 
effect,  against  the  Spanish  ships.  Proceeding  farther,  a  great  cape  was  seen,  but  could  not  be 
passed,  as  the  currents  were  strong.  The  pilot,  Alaminos,  advised  against  sailing  farther  to  the 
uorth.  It  was  found,  moreover,  that  provisions  were  scarce,  and  that  some  of  the  ships  leaked  badly. 
As  winter  was  approaching  the  commander  decided  to  return  to  Cuba.  On  the  29th  of  September 
that  island  was  sighted,  and  on  the  9th  of  October  they  entered  the  port  of  Matanzas,  from  which 
they  had  sailed  six  months  earlier.  On  the  resulting  charts  an  important  part  of  the  gulf  was 
represented,  and  on  them  appear  the  names  "Mexico,"  "New  Spain,"  "Terminos,"  "  Ulloa,"  and 
numerous  other  designations  that  are  yet  retained. 

From  Ulloa  a  vessel  was  sent  by  Grijalva  under  command  of  Pedro  Alvarado  with  orders 
to  examine  the  coast  of  Cuba.  The  vessel  arrived  in  safety,  but  no  details  are  known  respecting 
the  observations  then  made.  So  also  of  the  voyage  of  Christoval  de  Olid,  whom  Velasquez  sent 
from  Cuba  to  follow  the  track  of  Cordova  and  Grijalva.  Olid  reached  the  shores  of  Yucatan,  but 
by  heavy  gales  was  forced  to  return  without  meeting  Grijalva  or  seeing  much  of  the  hitherto  un 
known  coast.  Olid  was  subsequently  sent  by  Cortes  to  Yucatan  and  the  Bay  of  Honduras. 

On  his  arrival  at  Cuba,  Grijalva  found  that  much  interest  had  been  excited  by  the  discoveries 
of  Alvarado.  The  Governor,  Velasquez,  had  fitted  out  another  armament,  and,  although  Grijalva 


520  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

had  been  energetic,  tbe  governor  was  not  content,  as  tliat  commander  had  not  settled  and  fortified 
a  place  in  the  new  country  which  was  supposed  to  be  rich.  The  commander  was  not  again 
employed,  and  soon  after  went  to  Jamaica,  entered  into  the  service  of  Garay,  and  accompanied  him 
in  his  expedition  to  Pauuco  in  1523.  Grijalva  was  killed  in  a  revolt  of  the  Indians  in  Nicaragua, 
where  he  had  joined  the  standard  of  Pedriarias. 

FEKNANDO  CORTES,  1519. 

The  voyages  and  operations  of  Cortes  are  described  in  the  letter  which  he  addressed  to  the 
King  of  Spain  from  Vera  Cruz  early  in  August,  1519.  The  letter  is  not  extant,  but  fortunately 
the  chaplain,  Gomara,  gives  an  extract  in  the  fortieth  chapter  of  his  Cronica  de  la  Nueva  Espafia  ; 
and  there  are  other  sources  of  information  touching  the  adventure.  Velasquez  instructed  Cortes 
to  go  tirst  to  Cozumel  Island,  and  from  thence  to  Yucatan.  He  was  to  sound  and  examine  all  the 
ports,  inlets,  and  watering  places,  including  those  of  Mexico,  and  afterwards  give  a  complete 
nautical  account.  But  the  names  "Mexico"  and  "New  Spain"  are  not  mentioned  in  that 
document. 

The  armament  consisted  of  eleven  vessels,  which  carried  five  hundred  soldiers  and  officers,  and 
the  account  says  more  than  a  hundred  pilots  and  sailors.  Nearly  all  the  vessels  of  Grijalva  and 
his  principal  officers  accompanied,  but  the  commander  was  excluded.  As  in  the  preceding 
expeditions,  Antouio  Alaminos  went  as  chief  pilot.  Morillo,  an  Indian  captured  by  Grijalva  at 
the  promontory  of  Catoche,  and  who  had  been  baptized  and  taught  Spanish,  was  the  interpreter 
for  Yucatan.  Havana  was  the  place  of  rendezvous.  Pedro  de  Alvarado  was  sent  in  advance,  and 
the  other  vessels  sailed  from  Havana  on  the  10th  of  February,  1519,  and  had  a  short  passage  to 
Yucatan  and  the  island  of  Cozumel.  There  Cortes  questioned  the  men  of  Grijalva  respecting  the 
word  "  Castilan"  which  the  Indians  of  Yucatan  had  so  often  pronounced,  and  he  concluded  thai 
some  Spaniards  were  in  the  vicinity.  On  further  inquiry  these  proved  to  be  men  who  survived 
the  shipwreck  of  Hieiouimo  de  Aguilar. 

On  the  5th  of  March  the  fleet  doubled  Cape  Catoche,  and  soon  after  a  vessel  commanded  by 
Escobar  was  sent  to  examine  the  Bay  of  Terminos  and  select  a  site  for  establishing  a  colony. 
Doubtless  his  report  was  unfavorable,  as  when  he  rejoined  the  fleet  Cortes  sailed  immediately  for 
the  Tabasco  River,  and  reached  the  entrance  in  seven  days.  It  is  thus  made  plain  that  no 
soundings  were  recorded,  nor  nautical  examinations  of  any  other  kind.  His  intention  was  to  settle 
and  fortify.  Some  severe  battles  occurred  with  the  Indians  of  Tabasco  River.  He  accepted  their 
peace  offerings  and  again  listened  to  stories  of  the  country  "  Mexico."  On  Holy  Thursday  the 
fleet  came  to  anchor  at  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,  and  there  some  Indian  messengers  approached  in 
canoes  and  told  Cortes  of  the  great  sovereign  of  the  interior,  Monte/tuna.  Two  vessels  were 
prepared  and  sent  northward  under  command  of  Francisco  de  Moutejo.  These  were  piloted  by 
Alaminos.  The  vessels  followed  the  track  of  Grijalva,  but  went  beyond  his  limit,  which  was  Cape 
Roxo.  Moutejo  and  Alaminos  doubled  that  cape  and  discovered  the  Rio  Grande  de  Panuco,  at  the 
mouth  of  which  they  arrived  only  a  few  days  earlier  than  another  Spanish  navigator  who  had 
reached  that  quarter  from  the  north.  Strong  contrary  currents  withstood  Moutejo  and  Alaminos, 
and  a  heavy  "  norther"  threatened  them  with  destruction.  But  the  north  wind  forced  them  back 
to  Ulloa,  after  an  absence  of  twelve  days.  The  only  anchorage  which  Alaminos  deemed  safe 
against  strong  north  winds  was  some  distance  to  the  northward  of  Ulloa,  and  to  that  place  the 
army  was  transferred  and  the  colony  was  founded.  Cortes  named  it  Villa  Rica  de  la  Vera  Cruz, 
i.  e.,  the  rich  town  of  the  true  cross.  The  latter  designation  implied  that  they  had  landed  on 
Holy  Friday;  and  the  word  "  rica"  was  added  because  gold  was  obtained.  The  name  has  import 
similar  to  that  of  the  "  Golden  Gate,"  as  applied  to  the  entrance  of  San  Francisco  Bay. 

Cortes  fortified  the  place  and  dispatched  to  the  King  of  Spain  a  vessel  with  presents  and  re. 
ports  of  his  operations.  He  then  destroyed  his  fleet  and  marched  early  in  August,  1519,  for  the 
conquest  of  Mexico. 

Cortes  confided  his  dispatches  and  presents  to  Puerto  Carnero  and  Montejo,  two  of  his  officers, 
and  placed  them  on  a  vessel,  of  which  Antonio  Alaminos  was  chief  pilot.  Bernal  Diaz  says  that 
the  best  sailing  vessel  of  the  squadron  was  chosen.  Hence  it  was  probably  the  "S.  Sebastian," 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  521 

which  vessel  is  repeatedly  designated  as  the  best  sailer  of  the  squadron  of  Cortes.  Under  com 
mand  of  Alvarado  that  vessel  had  often  sailed  as  a  pioneer  in  advance  of  squadrons.  Cortes  con 
ferred  with  Alaniinos  respecting  the  most  direct,  route  from  the  Gulf  coast  towards  Europe,  as  no 
navigator  had  previously  aimed  at  lessening  the  Hue  of  navigation.  Only  one  vessel  had  been  sent 
directly  over,  and  that  carried  intelligence  of  Grijalva's  success,  but  the  passage  was  made  through 
the  Windward  Islands. 

Alaniinos.  who  had  been  with  Ponce  de  Leon  in  the  year  1512,  and  with  Cordova  in  1517,  pro. 
posed  to  sail  between  Florida  and  Cuba,  to  the  east  and  north.  Cortes  adopted  the  plan,  and  his 
messengers,  under  the  command  of  Alaniinos,  sailed  from  Vera  Cruz  on  the  26th  of  July,  1519; 
crossed  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  passing  eastward  entered  the  Strait  of  Florida;  and  the  vessel 
which  carried  him  arrived  at  San  Lucar,  in  Spain,  early  in  October.  It  would  be  needless  to  specu 
late  on  the  route  taken,  and  whether  or  not  the  Gulf  Stream  favored  the  passage.  We  know,  how 
ever,  with  certainty  that  in  going  directly  eastward  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Azores,  and  no  navi 
gator  is  on  record  for  the  same  latitude  previous  to  the  year  1519.  To  Alaminos  is  doubtless  due 
the  advantage  of  passing  from  the  West  Indies  to  Europe  by  keeping  in  the  Gulf  Stream.  The 
Bermudas  were  soon  after  discovered  and  a  plan  for  their  settlement  was  fixed  in  the  year  1~>'21. 

Alaminos  never  returned  to  the  Gulf  shores.  He  went  to  Spain  with  the  father  of  Fernando 
Cortes,  and  reported  his  own  discoveries  and  those  of  Cortes,  Grijalva,  and  Cordova.  He  was 
certainly  the  most  intelligent  and  energetic  of  the  Mexican  Gulf -pilots.  He  was  with  Columbus 
in  l.'iOL'-'d.'i  in  the  waters  of  the  West  Indies  and  towards  Yucatan.  With  Ponce  deLeon  he  passed 
around  Florida  and  the  Lncayan  Islands  in  the  year  1512,  and  in  the  same  year  was  with  Ortubia 
on  the  voyage  to  Uimini.  lie  accompanied  Cordova  to  Yucatan  in  1517,  and  in  the  following  year 
went  with  Grijalva  to  New  Spain.  In  the  year  1519  he  attended  Cortes  along  the  west  shore  of 
the  (iulf  as  far  as  Ulloa  ;  and  in  the  same  year  went  with  Montijo  as  far  as  the  river  Panuco.  His 
expedient  in  navigating  to  advantage  by  way  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  is  commended  by  Huuiboldt. 
All  the  expeditions  of  this  period,  though  conducted  by  others,  may,  so  far  as  maritime  history  is 
concerned,  be  regarded  as  prompted  by  Alamiuos. 

DON  ALONZO  ALVAREZ  PINEDA.  1519. 

Francisco  de  (iaray  was  a  distinguished  man  who  had  been  in  the  West  Indies  with  Columbus, 
and  to  him  had  been  committed  the  government  of  the  island  of  .Jamaica.  Having  become  rich,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  north  and  west.  When  the  jc  ports  of  Cordova  and  Grijalva  became 
known,  the  Governor  of  Jamaica  believed  himself  entitled  to  a  share.  Garay  possibly  had  some 
intercourse  with  the  pilot  Alaminos.  The  river  Saint  Peter  and  Saint  Paul  is  not  mentioned  among 
the  discoveries  of  Grijalva,  but  on  many  old  charts  it  is  marked  as  about  midway  between 
the  river  Panuco  and  Vera  Crux,  and  always  to  the  south  of  Cabo  Roxo.  It  seems  that  Alaminos 
regarded  this  as  the  limit  of  Grijalva's  disco\ «. r ies.  Garay  therefore  fitted  out  four  vessels  while 
Velasquez  was  preparing  his  armament  for  Cortes.  The  command  was  given  to  Don  Alonzo 
Alvarez  Pineda,  who  sailed  from  Jamaica  to  the  northwest  early  in  the  year  1519;  probably  about 
the  time  when  Cortes  sailed  from  Havana.  Pineda,  following  the  sailing  directions  of  Alaminos, 
sailed  from  Jamaica  early  in  the  joar,  and  coasted  along  the  west  side  of  Florida  Peninsula  in  hope, 
of  finding  some  passage.  Finding  none,  he  held  on  westward  and  entered  the  river  Panuco,  where 
Montejo  had  been  a  few  months  earlier.  He  next  visited  the  harbor  at  which  Cortes  had  built  his 
fortress  of  Villa  Kica  de  la  Vera  Cruz,  and  from  which  Cortes  had  only  a  few  days  previous 
departed  with  his  army  for  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  The  ships  of  Pineda  were  destroyed  by  the 
forces  of  Cortes  stationed  at  Villa  Rica.  That  commander  was  absent  at  an  Indian  town  some 
leagues  away,  but  he  hastened  to  the  coast,  and  captured  some  of  Pineda's  men  who  had  landed. 
From  these  he  learned  that  the  vessels  had  been  sent  by  Garay,  the  Governor  of  Jamaica,  and 
that  they  came  from  the  north,  where  they  had  traversed  more  than  three  hundred  leagues  of  the 
coast;  and  proposed  arrangements  in  regard  to  the  limits  of  their  respective  discoveries  and 
governments.  But  Cortes  dt  dared  that  the  river  Panuco  and  all  the  countries  of  that  region  had 
been  already  taken  in  possession  by  himself  in  the  King's  name.  So  he  held  Pineda's  men  and 
enlisted  them  in  his  own  army,  lie  was  not  successful  in  an  attempt  to  get  possession  of  Pineda's 
II.  Ex.  4,'J liC, 


522  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

little  fleet.  The  capture  of  the  men  must  have  been  early  in  August  of  the  year  1519.  Cortes 
was  about  that  time  at  Zempoahi,  and  on  his  inarch  to  Mexico.  Pineda  remained  forty  days  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Pannco. 

Pineda  sent  home  with  his  report  a  chart  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  and  by  Garay's  messengers 
it  was  presented  to  the  King  of  Spain.  On  that  map  arc  represented  Florida,  Cuba,  and  Yucatan, 
but  the  outlines  were  probably  given  by  Alaminos,  and  to  these  were  doubtless  added  the  northern 
discoveries  of  Pineda. 

There  is  another  chart  of  the  Gulf  published  in  the  year  1524  at  Nnriiberg,  to  accompany  the 
second  letter  of  Cortes,  the  date  of  which  is  October  3t),  1520.  This  resembles  the  chart  published 
by  Navarrete,  but  is  marked  with  more  names.  Cortes,  in  the  second  letter,  does  not  refer  to  this 
sketch,  but  he  relates  particulars  in  regard  to  the  capture  of  Pineda's  men.  It  seems  probable 
that  we  owe  to  Pineda  all  early  knowledge  concerning  the  northern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
On  the  first  charts  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  is  indicated,  with  the  name  h'io  <ld  /•,'*/>//•//«  Xnnt<>, 
and  it  was  so  designated  by  Spaniards  for  more  than  a  century.  To  the  east  of  it  is  marked  on 
the  eariy  chart  a  bay,  called  "  Mar  Peqifeiia""  (i.  e..  Little  Sea),  and  this  is  doubtless  Chandelenr 
Bay.  Of  many  names  not  now  known  on  charts  perhaps  "Cabo  Bravo"  is  an  exception,  as  it 
marks  the  position  of  the  Eio  Hravo  of  our  day,  and  perhaps  gave  origin  to  that  name.  Most  of 
the  designations  were  given  by  Pineda  and  the  pilots  of  his  four  ships. 

NARVAEZ,  ir/20. 

The  proceedings- of  Cortes  in  Xew  Spain  were  regarded  by  Velasquez  as  rebellions,  lie 
therefore  sent  a  large  armament,  under  command  of  Pamfilo  de  Narvac/,,  who  had  assisted  him  in 
the  conquest  of  Cuba,  and  that  commander  was  instructed  to  bring  Cortes  to  obedience, -and  to 
complete  the  conquest  of  Mexico  in  the  interest  of  Velasquez. 

Narvaez  sailed  from  Cuba  early  in  March,  1520,  with  eighteen  vessels,  which  carried  nearly  a 
«  thousand  men  as  soldiers,  sailors,  and  pilots.  "  On  the  23d  of  April  he  was  at  anchor  oft'  San  Juan 
de  Ulloa.  Such  developments  as  he  may  have  made  in  geography  are  not  known.  His  military 
undertaking  ended  in  disaster.  Made  prisoner  by  Cortes,  the  men  of  Narvaez  joined  the  banner 
of  the  conqueror.  He  was,  however,  energetic  and  subsequently  acted  on  another  part  of  the 
Gulf  coast. 

PINKDA   AND  CAMARGO,   l.VJO. 

Francisco  de  Garay,  Governor  of  Jamaica,  sent  a  second  expedition  into  the  Gulf  in  the  spring 
of  the  year  1520.  His  men,  under  Pineda,  found  nothing  attractive  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf; 
but  near  the  river  Pauuoo  they  saw  the  fine  region  now  known  as  the  province  of  Tamanlipas. 
There  the  natives  had  some  gold.  Pineda  apparently  did  not  know  that  he  had  been  anticipated 
by  Moutejo  and  Alaminos;  nor  was  Garay  aware  of  the  earlier  advance  of  Cortes  to  the  llio 
Panuco.  That  commander,  with  the  co  operation  of  Montezuma,  had  sent  messengers  to  Pannco 
and  obtained  tribute  in  token  of  the  submission  of  the  Indian  chiefs. 

Garay  committed  the  enterprise  to  Alonzo  Alvarez  Pineda,  and  as  second  in  command  Diego 
Camargo,  and  gave  them  three  vessels,  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  the  materials  requisite  fin- 
building  a  town  and  fortification.  At  Panuco,  a  settlement  was  begun,  but  probably  at  the 
investigation  of  Cortes  the  Iildians  attacked  the  settlers.  In  the  constrained  embarkation  one  of 
the  vessels  was  wrecked.  Pineda  was  killed.  The  remaining  vessels  under  Camargo  sailed  south, 
and  at  Vera  Cruz  the  soldiers  went  into  service  with  Cortes.  Garay  had  previously  despatched 
two  other  vessels  with  troops  to  the  river  Panuco  to  aid  in  founding  the  colony;  but,  hearing  of 
the  disaster  to  Pineda,  they  went  into  the  harbor  of  Villa  Rica,  and  they  also  joined  the  army  of 
Cirtes. 

PONCE  DE  LEON,  1521. 

SECOND    EXPEDITION. 

When  the  fame  of  Cortes  became  great  (says  Ilcrrera),  the  spirit  of  other  adventurers 
was  aroused.  All  desired  to  undertake  something  for  reputation.  There  was  a  general  move- 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  523 

nient  toward  tin-  northwest,  and  the  earliest  discoverer  of  Florida  was  affected  like  others  of  great 
cnet  i; y.  A  Her  his  first  expedition  of  1512  he  passed  t  wo  years  in  Spain,  and  the  King  had  conferred 
on  him  the  title  of  "  Adelantado  de  In  ixltt  <!<  Jiimmi  y  la  Florida,"  and  the  government  of -that 
province.  But  he  was  soou  afterwards  engaged  in  operating  against  the  Indians  of  the  Caribbean 
Islands,  and  subsequently  lived  iu  retirement  at  Porto  Kico.  In  the  year  1521  he  fitted  out  two 
vessels  and  sailed  to  Florida.  It  is  only  known  that  he  landed  there  after  a  boisterous  voyage, 
probably  on  the  western  coast  of  the  peninsula.  He  had  a  severe  battle  with  the  natives  and  many 
of  his  men  were  killed.  I'once  de  Leon  himself  was  mortally  wounded.  He  died  of  the  hurt  on 
the  coast,  of  Cuba.  One  of  his  vessels  (Herrera  says)  went  toVera  Cruz,  and  there  Cortes  bought 
her  munitions  and  stores.  After  his  death  the  title  of  Adelantado  of  Bimini  and  Florida  was 
conferred  on  his  son,  Don  Luis  I'once  de  Leon,  but  his  name  is  not  connected  with  any  discovery 
or  geographical  development. 

FRANCISCO  DE  GARAI,  1823. 

Of  I  wo  e\i  (editions  sent  to  the  (In  If  by  (iarai,  the  second  ended  in  total  loss.  But  regarding  his 
large  outlay,  I  he  King  issued  a  decree  granting  him  the  government  of  the  province  of  Arnichel 
with  such  rights  as  were  then  usual.  J!ut  no  mention  was  made  of  the  limits  nor  of  the  boundary 
line  of  the  province.  Christoval  de  Tapia  was  to  be  sent  out  as  a  special  commissioner  to  confer 
in  what  related  to  Cortes,  but  he  returned  to  Spain  in  1522  and  had  not  settled  anything.  Cortes 
went  forward  with  vigor  in  plans  for  conquest.  He  inarched  with  an  army  from  Mexico  to  Paniico 
and  founded  at  the  month  of  the  river  a  colony  called  "  Finn  Estevan  del  Puerto.'1'' 

Giirai  meanwhile  was  preparing  an  armament  for  the  same  region.  He  fitted  out  eleven  vessels 
and  an  army  of  nearly  1,000  men,  and  thus  exhausted  his  own  private  means.  The  pilot  of  the 
fleet  was  Diego  Hirnelo,  a  nephew  of  the  Diego  Miruelo  who  was  in  service  with  Ponce  de  Leon. 
Alter  a  delay  of  two  years  the  fleet  sailed  on  the  26th  of  June,  1524.  What  Cortes  had  done  was 
made  known  at  a  harbor  in  Cuba  whore  the  fleet  touched,  but  the  vessels  nevertheless  kept  OD, 
and  reached  the  shore  of  Mexico  near  (he  mouth  of  the  Itio  de  las  Palmas.  On  all  old  Spanish 
charts  that  river  is  marked  as  at  some  distance  to  the  north  of  Pannco ;  sometimes  on  the  25th  and 
sometimes  on  the  24th  parallel.  The  river  is  marked  on  a  chart  of  1520,  which  doubtless  Cortes 
copied  from  Pineda's  chart.  It  is  the  river  now  known  as  the  tjantauder. 

Garni  sent  a  vessel  into  the  river  and  it  was  explored  to  a  distance  of  15  leagues.  Then  his  fleet 
was  sent  under  command  of  Juan  Le  Grijalva  to  sail  southward  while  he  marched  with  the  army 
in  the  same  direction.  At  Pannco  it  was  his  intention  to  found  a  city  to  be  named  "Garayana;"  but 
the  march  was  through  a  desert.  The  army  arrived  in  distress  on  the  borders  of  Mexico,  and  the 
soldiers  of  Cortes  were  neither  provided  nor  inclined  to  receive  so  many  guests.  Foraging  parties 
wen-  sent  out.  Of  the  fleet,  six  vessels  were  lost  and  the  others  were  damaged.  Only  a  short 
time  before  the  arrival  of  (iarai  the  royal  decree  was  received  in  which  Garai  was  peremptorily 
forbidden  to  laud  at  I'anuco,  as  that  province  was  regarded  as  belonging  to  Mexico.  Cortes 
promptly  sent  a  copy  and  (iarai  recognized  that  he  had  erred.  He  resolved  to  retire  with  his  fleet 
and  army  to  the  i.orth  and  make  a  settlement  at  the  Kio  de  Palmas.  Orders  were  given  to  that 
etl'eet,  but  his  soldiers  were  reluctant  and  declared  an  inclination  to  stay  where  they  were. 

(iarai  concluded  to  join  Cortes.  He  went  to  Mexico  and  was  well  received,  but  broken-hearted 
and  poor  he  died  soon  after  his  arrival  in  the  house  occupied  by  Cortes.  He  made  that  commander 
the  executor  of  his  will ;  and  one  of  his  sons  was  betrothed  to  a  natural  daughter  of  Cortes. 

After  the  death  of  (iarai  it  may  be  said  that  the  empire  of  Montezuma  was  wholly  subject  to 
Cortes,  and  he  extended  his  views  to  more  distant  regions.  He  fitted  out  vessels  on  the  coast  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  also  sent  vessels  to  Central  America,  under  Christoval  de  Olid.  Another 
armament  was  destined  for  adventures  on  the  northern  shores.  In  his  fourth  letter  to  the  Emperor 
Cortes  remarks  that  "nothing  seems  ton-main  but  to  explore  the  coast  lying  between  the  river 
Panuco  and  Florida,  the  latter  being  the  country  discovered  by  the  Adelantado  Juan  Ponce  de 
Leon,  and  the  northern  coast  of  Florida  as  far  as  Itaccalaos,  because  it  is  considered,  certain  that 
there  is  a  strait  which  leads  into  the  South  Sea."  The  delusion  continued,  and  twenty  years  after 
the  time  of  Columbus  many  hoped  to  find  a  strait;  if  not  between  Florida  and  New  Spain,  it  was 
thought  that  the  strait  might  exist  north  of  Florida. 


524  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SIJKVKY. 

Cortes  had  destined  three  caravels  and  t\vo  brigantines.  and  his  direction  \vas  that  they 
should  advance  as  tar  north  as  the  Baccalaos,  /.  <:,  to  Newfoundland.  But  soon  after  he  was 
iufonued  of  the  revolt  of  his  captain,  Olid,  in  Honduras,  and  felt  obliged  to  inarch  south.  Moreover, 
disturbances  in  Mexico  claimed  attention  in  the  year  152(1  and  1527  ;  and  then  the  exploration  and 
government  had  passed  into  other  hands.  By  Cortes,  more  than  any  other  adventurer,  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  became  known  in  Europe;  audit  was  soon  the  center  of  flourishing  commerce.  But 
be  made  no  general  chart ;  and  that  fact  is  the  more  singular  because  he  organized  his  plans  tor 
conquest  by  means  of  a  sketch  drawn  at  his  request  by  Montezmna. 

XA.RVAK/,  ir,-47-ir>:!ti. 

Don  Luis  Ponce  de  Leon,  on  whom  the  title  of  Governor  of  Florida  had  devolved  from  his 
father,  remained  inactive  ;  and  this  seems  to  be  true  also  of  the  son  of  Garai,  to  whom  a  daughter 
of  Cortes  had  been  betrothed.  Cortes  had  promised  protection,  but  the  spirit  of  adventure 
found  place  only  in  Pamtilo  de  Narvaez,  who  had  been  previously  engaged  in  explorations  on  the 
Gulf  coast.  He  had  been  with  Velasquez  to  Cuba;  had  carried  a  fleet  to  .Mexico;  and  had  been 
unfortunate  in  an  expedition  against  Cortes,  who  took  him  prisoner,  but,  at  the  request  of  Garai, 
liberated  him  and  gave  him  means  to  return  to  Cuba  and  to  Spain.  lie  was  rich,  and  offered  his 
services  for  the  conquest  of  the  north  parts  of  the  Gulf,  and  in  the  year  1520  made  with  the  Gov 
ernment  a  treaty  signifying  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  assemble  a  naval  and  military  force, 
and  with  it  discover  and  possess  all  countries  north  of  the  Rio  de  las  I'almas  on  the  frontier 
of  New  Spain  to  Florida,  and  that  he  should  found  a  settlement  from  one  sea  to  the  other,  and 
report  on  all  that  was  worthy  of  record.  The  commission  was  ample,  as  it  comprised  the  settlement 
of  our  present  Southern  States,  with  a  shore  line  of  more  than  1,200  nautical  miles.  IfNarvae/, 
had  fulfilled  his  commission.  Cortes  would  have  been  confronted  by  a  powerful  rival.  At  the 
same  time  a  commission  was  given  to  Francisco  Montejo  as  Governor  of  Yucatan,  and  to  Pedro 
Alvarado  as  Governor  of  Guatemala.  These  may  be  regarded  as  intended  to  check  the  inlluence 
of  Cortes.  He  had  treated  Narvaez  generously  after  his  defeat,  but  they  could  not  be  regarded  as 
friends. 

The  government  included  in  the  boundaries  was  named  '-El  Govierno  del  Rio  dc  las  Palmas," 
and  it  was  expressly  said  that  in  this  government  should  be  included  all  that  \v;:.s  called  Florida. 
Narvaez  was  made  Adelantado  and  Captain-General.  Amongst  Other  officers  .•;  pointed  by  the 
King  was  the  treasurer  of  the  expedition,  Cabeya  de  Vaca. 

Narvaez  sailed  from  San  Lucas,  in  Spain,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1/527,  with  live  vessels  and  six 
hundred  men.  After  crossing  the  Atlantic  he,  touched  at  Saint  Domingo,  and  there  one  hundred 
and  fifty  of  his  men  escaped.  Near  Cuba  the  fleet  suffered  by  a  hurricane,  but  at  that  island  he 
passed  the  winter.  With  the  assistance  of  one  of  the  most  wealthy  and  generous  of  the  proprie 
tors  (Varco  Porcallo),  he  collected  there  a  store  of  provisions  and  engagul  other  ships  and  men, 
and  also  the  chief  pilot,  Diego  Miruelo,  who  deserves  particular  mention,  as  he  had  accompanied 
Garai  on  his  expedition  to  Ilio  de  las  Palmas.  He  was,  moreover,  a  nephew  of  the  Uiego  Miruelo 
who  was  wjth  Ponce  de  Leon  and  afterwards  with  Lucas  dc  Ayllon.  Cabeya  de  Vaca  and  Ilcrrera 
record  him  as  an  experienced  pilot  of  the  Rio  de  las  Palmas  and  of  the  north  coast,  but  it  seems 
unlikely  that  Miruelo  could  gain  much  experience  with  Garai  in  the  year  1523.  Moiv  probably  he 
was  with  Pineda,  in  the  year  1519,  around  the  north  line  of  the  Gulf  coast. 

In  March,  1528,  Narvaez  sailed  from  the  south  coast  of  Cuba,  doubled  Cape  San  Antonio  in 
bad  weather,  and  sailed  towards  Havana,  but  because  of  very  stormy  weather  he  was  unable  to 
enter  that  port.  He  was  near  the  coast  of  Florida  early  in  April,  and  on  the  l.'lth  of  that  month 
anchored  in  a  bay,  which  was  found  to  be  extensive.  This  was  doubtless  Tampa  Bay.  In  the 
huts  of  the  Indians  who  lived  on  the  shore  were  found  such  boxes  as  the  Spanish  merchants  then 
used  for  their  goods;  and  they  were  likely  the  remains  of  some  wreck.  Pieces  of  cloth  were  also 
found  like  the  stuff  used  in  New  Spain.  The  natives  said  that  these  articles  were  from  ••  Apalache,'- 
and  that  such  goods  were  plenty  there,  as  also  gold.  That  place  was  sought,  and  it  seemed  best 
to  send  the  soldiers  and  horses  to  go  on  land  while  the  fleet  kept  near  the  shore  to  find  a  harbor. 
The  army  moved  oil  the  1st  of  May,  leaving  the  fleet  under  command  of  Carvallo,  with  direction  to 


UNITED  STATICS  COAST  AND  GKODKTIO  SURVKY.  425 

anchor  at  some  sale  place.  In  ease  of  delay  (lie  vessels  were  to  sail  to  Cuba  and  bring  provisions 
to  tlie  Bay  of  Santa  Crux,  where  all  Hie  forces  were  to  join.  It  lias  been  well  made  out  that  I  lie 
bay  last  mentioned  is  what  is  now  known  as  Tampa  JJa.v. 

NYitli  about  three  hundred  men  Narvaex,  inarched  during  a  fortnight  to  the  north  and  reached 
a  great  river.  One  day  was  spent  in  passing  it,  with  such  labor  that  the  forces  rested  for  several 
days.  Two  exploring  parties  went  by  the  coast  to  look  for  a  harbor.  They  found  a  shallow  bay, 
and  it  was  probably  the  water  at  Cedar  Keys.  The  river  was  doubtless  the  WithFacoochee,  or  the 
Snwanee.  The  party  saw  nothing-  of. the  coast  again,  but  kept  on  in  search  of  "  Apalache.''  and 
came  in  sight  of  a  village  on  the  24th  of  June.  They  took  possession  and  found  some  maize,  but 
nothing  else  of  consequence;  On  the  27th  of  July  they  reached  Ante,  and  saw  many  bays,  but  the 
Gulf  coast  was  not  in  view.  One-third  of  the  army  had  died  or  was  .sick,  and  the  horses  which 
carried  the  sick  were  exhausted.  The  ships  were  not  in  sight  and  means  of  subsistence  could  be 
had  only  by  battles  with  the  natives.  On  the  22d  of  September,  after  having  eaten  the  la.st  of 
their  horses,  the  party  embarked  in  four  wretched  barges,  and  moved  westward  along  the  shore 
of  a  bay  which  they  named  Baia  de  los  Caballos,  i.  e.,  Bay  of  the  horses.  This  was  no  doubt  the 
expanse  now  known  as  Saint  George's  Sound.  Near  Saint  Mark's  De  Soto  found  the  remains  of 
I  he  forge  used  by  Narvac/,  and  also  some  skulls  of  horses. 

The  party  of  Narvae/  kept  on  westward,  following  the  bay  shores  and  inlets,  and  on  the  29th 
of  September  came  to  an  island  near  the  shore  (Saint  Vincent's  Island),  and  passed  a  strait  which 
they  named  Saint  Miguel.  This  corresponds  with  what  is  known  now  as  Indian  Pass.  Keeping 
on  westward  for  thirty  days  they  probably  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Mobile  Bay  about  the  end  of 
October.  Then  an  island  is  mentioned  where  they  remained  six  days,  and  soon  after  a  bay,  which. 
was  full  of  islands.  This  was  perhaps  Chandeleur  Bay.  Soon  they  took  fresh  water  from  the  sea, 
and  it  may  be  supposed  that  they  were  then  at  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi.  By  the  current  they 
were  forced  away,  and  a  heavy  norther  carried  them  into  the  Gulf.  Two  of  the  boats  foundered, 
but  the  one  which  carried  Narvaez  remained  and  was  at  anchor  when  a  sudden  flaw  of  wind 
occurred.  There  was  on  board  besides  the  Governor  only  two  sick  men,  and  neither  provisions 
nor  water.  They  were  never  seen  again,  and  thus  perished  in  November,  ir>27.  The  shore  party 
endured  great  distress,  but  nearly  all  perished  from  hunger  and  fatigue.  Soto  Major  was  one  of 
the  only  two  survivors,  but  he  died,  leaving  Esquivel.  who  wandered  in  search  of  subsistence. 
To  another  of  the  shipwrecked  Spaniards  he  told  of  the  fate  of  Narvac/,  and  then  disappeared. 
Figueroa  subsequently  met  Cabega  de  Vaca  and  to  him  recounted  the  misfortune. 

Before  Narvaez  set  out  from  Tampa  Bay  to  the  interior,  the  pilot,  Miruelo,  was  sent,  as  already 
stated,  to  look  for  a  harbor;  but  three  of  the  ships  were  left  at  Tampa,  under  Carvallo,  with 
instructions  to  go  up  along  the  coast  and  to  join  the  other  vessels.  Miruelo,  not  finding  his 
supposed  harbor,  turned  back  in  accordance  with  his  instructions  and  sailed  to  Cuba,  and  from 
thence  dispatched  a  vessel  with  provisions  to  Tampa  Bay.  Carvallo,  with  the  remaining  three 
ships  and  a  hundred  men,  sailed  north,  but  finding  no  harbor  turned  back  and  joined  Miruelo  at 
Tampa  Bay.  Their  search  for  Narvaez  seems  to  have  employed  nearly  a  year,  and  as  it  was 
fruitless  they  sailed  to  New  Spain.  The  old  charts  are  marked  with  the  name  "Miruelo  Bay"  in 
the  place  occupied  in  our  maps  by  the  name  Apalache  Bay. 

Cabeca  de  Vaca,  alter  being  separated  from  Narvac/  by  currents  and  storms  early  in  November, 
1527,  probably  near  the  Mississippi  delta,  was,  after  rowing  some  days  in  the  boats,  at  an  island 
where  some  shipwrecked  Spaniards  were  assembled.  There  they  wintered,  and  it  was  very  likely 
on  one  of  the  islands  of  Mississippi  Sound.  Four  of  the  Spaniards  started  westward  in  search  of 
1'annco.  Their  names  are  given  in  the  narrative,  but  nothing  else  is  known  concerning  their  fate. 
Some  preferred  to  remain  with  Cabeca  de  Vaca  on  the  island  Malhado,  and  there  were  survivors 
six  years  later.  They  sustained  themselves  by  fishing  and  hunting,  and  were  constrained  to  work 
for  the  Indians,  who  treated  them  as  slaves.  Finally,  in  the  year  1533,  the  two  Spaniards  resoh  ed 
to  leave  the  region  by  going  westward.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  Lope  de  Oviedo 
separated  from  Cabeca  de  Vaca  and  was  not  heard  of  again.  But  the  adventurer  last  named 
found  three  other  Christians  who  were  held  as  slaves  by  the  natives.  These  were  Andreas  de 
Dorantes.  Alonzo  de  Castillo,  and  Estavanico,  a  black  servant.  They  associated,  escaped,  and 
started  westward,  and  in  the  course  of  two  years  reached  a  Spanish  .settlement  near  the  Gulf  of 


526  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

California.  Soon  they  were  con  ducted  to  Mexico,  and  tliere  the  Viceroy  Mcndoza  and  Cortes 
received  them  with  kindness.  Of  the  names  added  to  charts  of  that  period  only  the  name 
Apalache  remains.  The  geographical  results  became  known  in  time.  Miruelo  and  Carvallo 
returned  in  152S;  but  Cabeo.a  de  Vaca  was  absent  from  Europe,  until  the  v< -HI-  15:!<i,  ;md  his 
ohsei  vations  were  not  published  until  the  year  1555,  when  they  were  issued  in  Valladolid. 

Cabeca  de  Vaea  was  willing  to  return  if  the  Emperor  would  confer  on  him  the  government  of 
the  regions  through  which  lie  had  journeyed,  but  Don  Fernando  de  Soto  appeared  at  the  same 
time  in  Spain.  He  had  been  in  service  with  Pizarro  and  had  acquired  wealth.  He  lent  money  to 
the  Emperor,  lived  in  comparative  splendor,  and  added  to  his  influence  by  marriage  with  a  lady 
\\  ho  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  influential  families  of  Spain.  His  ambition  st  irrcd  at  the  mention 
of  vast  regions,  traversed  by  Cabe§a  de  Vac.a,  and  he  requested  of  the  Emperor  a  commission,  and 
was  made  Adelantado  of  Florida.  The  government  of  Cuba  was  at  the  same  time  conferred  upon 
him,  as  the  port  of  Havana  was  best  suited  for  fitting  out  vessels  for  any  purpose. 

De  Soto  used  his  own  means  largely  in  titting  out  the  armament,  and  besides  he  had  assistance 
from  wealthy  young  noblemen  of  his  acquaintance.  Even  from  Portugal  a  number  of  cavaliers 
ottered  their  services.  The  armament  sailed  from  San  Lucas  in  Spain  in  April,  15:><S,  with  a  force 
of  upwards  of  six  hundred  officers  and  men,  and  after  being  two  months  at  sea  reached  the  coast 
of  Cuba  at  Santiago.  After  settling  the  details  of  government  he  marched  to  Havana,  while  the 
tlect,  passing  around  Cape  San  Antonio,  made  for  the  same  port,  and  there  the  entire  force  was 
assembled  at  the  end  of  summer. 

Somewhat  earlier,  Havana  had  been  plundered  and  burnt  by  French  pirates.  De.  Solo  rebuilt 
the  churches,  and  fortified  the  place  again'st  another  attack.  He  was  thus  occupied  during  the 
autumn  and  winter  of  1538-'3l».  It.  is  not  known  that  he  derived  any  advantage  from  the  explora 
tion  made  by  Miruelo  and  Cavallo,  the  pilots  of  Narvaez,  nor  is  anything  known  of  the  further 
career  of  those  two  mariners.  They  are  not  mentioned  as  being  with  the  party  of  De  Soto,  but  it 
seems  very  probable  that  he  had  in  his  command  some  of  the  explorers  and  pilots  who  had  been 
in  Florida.  He  had  a  certain  Juau  de  Afiasco,  who  had  repute  as  mariner,  cosmographer,  and 
astrologer,  and  Anasco  was  sent  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  1538  with  two  small  vessels  to  coast 
along  Florida  and  note  the  ports,  inlets,  and  bays.  He  went  out  probably  in  September,  and  two 
months  afterward  was  again  at  Havana.  Not  satisfied  with  the  results,  De  Soto  sent  him  back 
with  instructions  to  explore  the  coast  with  accuracy.  Three  months  later  Anasco  brought 
information  concerning  a  convenient  harbor,  but  there  is  neither  chart  nor  ship  journal  as  the 
result  of  this  voyage. 

DE  SOTO,  i  :.:;:>. 

De  Soto  sailed  from  (Julia  on  the  18th  of  May,  1539,  with  a  fleet  of  five  large  ships  and  two 
smaller  vessels,  lie  had  a  force  of  about  seven  hundred  cavaliers,  soldiers,  and  sailors.  The 
largest  ship  had  once  carried  the  flag  of  the  Admiral  Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza  to  the  river  La 
Plata.  She  had  also  been  on  a  voyage  to  Mexico. 

The  fleet  sailed  directly  to  the  port  described  by  Juan  de  Afiasco  and  arrived  on  the  25th  of 
May,  at  the  harbor  where  Narvaez  had  landed;  i.  e.,  Tampa  Bay.  There  he  pitched  a  camp  and 
made  short  visits  from  it  to  the  interior  to  gain  information  from  the  natives.  A  Spaniard  was 
found  amongst  them,  Juan  Ortiz,  who  had  been  with  Narvaez  and  Miruelo.  liy  the  Indians  he 
had  been  held  eleven  years.  As  he  could  converse  in  one  of  the  Indian  dialects  of  Florida  he -was 
able  to  serve  as  an  interpreter. 

De  Soto  sent  his  large  vessels  to  Havana  and  stationed  at  Tampa  only  three  small  brigantines 
with  some  soldiers  and  horsemen.  These,  were  for  service  under  Captain  Pedro  Calderon.  De 
Soto  set  out  for  the  interior  with  his  principal  force  early  in  June.  He  marched  first  in  a  north 
eastern  direction,  and  then  (like  Narvaez)  having  recched  some  promising  reports  in  regard  to 
the  country  "Apalachc,"  he,  went  north  and  north  west ;  and  passed  several  rivers,  one  of  which 
was  very  probably  the  Suwaiinee.  Of  other  rivers  named  at  the  period,  none  can  be  identified 
except  the  Ocilla. 

After  marching  four  months  De  Soto  reached  Apalache,  on  the  27th  of  Cctober.    The  narrative 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  527 

mentions  nothing  of  vestiges  of  Narvaez,  but  several  excursions  were  made  to  the  north  and  to 
the  east  ;uul  west.  Juan  do  Afiasco  went  southward  and  found  the  village  of  Ante  which  is 
mentioned  in  the  narrative  of  the  Narvaex.  expedition.  On  the  Gulf  eoast  he  found  also  the  forge 
used  by  the  workmen  of  Narvae/,,  the  skulls  of  horses,  and  some  other  vestiges  of  the  encampment. 
The  Indian  guides  related  particulars  of  the  former  disaster.  Afiasco  founded  the  bay  of  Ante, 
which  is  now  known  as  Apalachee.  Bay.  This  service  was  of  consequence  to  De  Soto,  and  he 
decided  to  move  his  army  and  vessels  up  from  Tampa  Bay.  Juan  de  Afiasco  was  sent  with 
thirty  strong  horsemen,  and  traveling  near  the  shore  lie  passed  many  swamps  and  river  entrances. 
In  ten  days1  travel  he  readied  Tampa  Bay  and  there  found  (Jalderon  with  the  vessels.  One  of 
the  ships  was  sent  to  Cuba  witli  letters  and  dispatches  to  the  wife  of  De  Soto,  and  festivals  were 
made  to  celebrate  the  success  of  the  conquest  of  Florida. 

The  two  remaining  vessels  were  relit  ted  and  sailed  under  the  command  of  Afiasco  towards 
Apalachee  Bay,  where  they  arrived  on  the  28th  of  December.  These  were  no  doubt  the  first 
European  vessels  that  entered  there.  Meanwhile  Pedro  Calderon  and  the  army  set  out  from 
Tampa  Bay  and  marched  along  the  shore.  They  reached  Apalache  after  the  arrival  of  Afiasco  in 
Ante,  i.  e.,  on  the  3d  of  June,  1540.  We  know  nothing  of  their  observations,  but  Garcilasso  de  la 
Vega  describes  their  sufferings  and  battles  with  the  Indians.  No  mention  of  latitude  is  made  in 
liis  narrative,  and  seldom  is  any  geographical  particular  referred  to. 

DIEGO   MALDONADO,  1540. 

De  Soto  intended  to  make  an  expedition  to  the  north  from  Apalache,  and  wished  also  to 
examine  the  country  westward,  lie  therefore  dispatched  the  vessels  under  M-tldouado  to  look 
into  the  bays,  rivers,  and  ports  in  this  section  of  the  coast,  but  with  instructions  to  return  to 
Ante  in  two  months.  Maldonado  sailed  early  in  January,  1540,  returned  at  the  time  appointed, 
and  reported  that  he  had  found  an  excellent  harbor  60  leagues  from  the  Bay  of  Ante.  From  the 
description  given  there  can  hardly  remain  a  doubt  that  the  place  mentioned  was  I'ensacola  Bay, 
and  Maldonado  was  the  first  European  that  entered.  This  he  did  doubtless  in  the  middle  of  Feb 
ruary.  Under  orders  from  De  Soto,  a  report  was  made  by  Maldonado  and  taken  to  Havana,  in  hope 
that  settlers  from  Cuba  might  be  induced  to  move.  To  such  end  Maldonado  was  ordered  to  pro 
vide  facilities:  to  build  vessels;  take  settlers,  horses,  se'eds,  &c.,  provisions,  clothing,  and 
ammunition,  lie  was  to  return  to  Acliusi  in  October,  and  was  specially  directed  to  bring  back 
Gomez  Arias,  whom  I  )e  Soto  wished  to  retain  near  him.  He  received  also  from  Maldonado 
two  Indians,  who  were  to  act  as  guides  iii  travel,  and  very  probably  he  had  also  a  copy  of  the 
coast  chart  made  by  that  navigator.  He  made  a  "  full  report,"  but  no  copy  is  extant. 

On  the  3d  of  March  De.  Soto  moved  northward  with  his  army  from  Apalache,  and  passed 
through  the  middle  parts  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.  He  had  the  mountains  in  view,  but 
came  in  sight  of  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  in  the  middle  of  October,  1540.  Historians  designate 
the  place  as  «  Mavila"  or  "  Manvila,"  and  it  is  uow  called  Mobile.  Previously  the  Spanish  maps 
showed  only  a  few  rivers,  but  many  water  courses  were  marked  after  the  time  of  De  Soto.  Some 
of  the  names  then  attached  can  yet  be  recognized,  as,  for  example,  Coca  (the  River  Coosaw)  and 
Tascaluca  (now  Tuscaloosa). 

Doubtless  De  Soto  intended  to  join  Maldonado  at  Pensacola;  but  lie  had  a  severe  battle 
with,  the  Indians  at  Mobile,  and  lost  so  much  baggage  that  his  soldiers  were  dispirited,  as  were 
also  the  officers,  who  deemed  it  best  to  returu  to  Cuba.  In  order  to  check  the  tendency  to 
retreat,  De  Soto  gave  orders  for  marching  to  the  northwest. 

After  the  discovery  ot  I'ensacola  Bay  Maldonado  went  to  Havana,  and  there  found  many  that 
were  willing  to  assist  in  the  support  of  De  Soto.  He  was  soon  provided  with  means,  but  finding 
1  no  Spaniards  at  Pensacola  Bay,  Maldona do  and  Gomez  Arias  sailed  in  different  directions  in  hope 
that  the  army  might  be  in  view  from  the  coast.  On  prominent  places  they  left  letters  in  trees 
and  on  rocks  stating  what  was  intended  in  the  ensuing  spring.  But  at  the  approach  of  winter 
they  were  constrained  to  return  to  Havana  without  any  intelligence  concerning  De  Soto.  No 
settlement  seems  to  have  been  attempted  at  Pensacola  Bay. 

De  Soto  had  been  informed  by  the  natives  that  Spanish  vessels  had  passed  along  the  coast; 


528  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUEVKY. 

mill  was  told  also  that  Mavila,  where  he  had  a  battle,  was  not  far  from  Acliusi.  But  Cor  reasons 
of  his  own,  he  kept  a  northwest  course  and  wintered  (1540-'4J-)  at  an  Indian  village  named 
"Chicaca."  This  is  probably  now  represented  by  the  word  Chikaxn/r.  So  also  the  name  given  by 
Ilerrera  and  Vega  as  "Alibamo"  is  doubtless  identical  with  what  is  now  written  Alalmnnt,  At 
Chicaca  there  was  a  contest  with  hostile  Indians.  Their  village  was  burnt  and  also  the  Spanish 
camp,  and  in  it  were  destroyed  the  baggage,  some  horses,  and  also  pigs  on  which  the  Europeans 
relied  for  subsistence. 

On  the  25th  of  April,  1541,  De  Soto  renewed  his  search  for  the  gold  region,  going  as  before 
northwest.  After  many  battles  with  savages  he  readied  a  place  called  Chisca  on  the  bank  of  tin- 
great  river  which  the  Spaniards  named  Rio  Grande.  This  was  afterwards  and  is  yet  known  as  the 
Mississippi.  The  exact  date  of  the  discovery  cannot  be  fixed,  but  it  must  have  been  an  early  day  in 
the  month  of  May  of  the  year  1541.  De  Soto  remained  at  the  place  thirty  days  (until  the  4th  of, Mine) 
and  constructed  barges  for  crossing  the  river.  Jt  was  found  to  have  a  strong  current.  The  water 
was  muddy  ;  much  floating  timber  was  seen  ;  and  there  were  several  kinds  of  fish.  De  Soto  came 
iu  sight  of  the  rirer  probably  near  the  month  of  the  Arkansaw  at  Chickasaw  Jiluffs.  lie  traced 
the  river  upwards  to  a  place  named  Tacaha,  but  the  latitude  cannot  be  fixed.  It  may  have  been 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  His  party  went  westward  of  the  river  about  200  miles,  and  again 
approached  the  buffalo  country  of  which  he  had  heard  previously.  In  the  autumn  he  came  back 
to  a  place  named  Autiam  (probably  the  Wachita  River)  and  there  passed  the  winter  of  1541-'42. 
He  thought  of  returning  to  the  gulf  by  the  river  course,  but  became  sick  and  died  on  the  21st  of 
May,  1542.  on  the  bank  of  the  river  at  a  place  called  Guachoya,  which  was  probably  not  far  from 
;he  mouth  of  lied  I  fiver,  lie  was'buried  in  the  water  of  the  great  stream  which  had  been  discov 
ered  under  his  leadership. 

Maldonado  and  Arias  had  gone,  the  one  westward  toward  Mexico,  the  other  to  the  vicinity  of 
Newfoundland,  but  there  is  no  circumstantial  account  of  these  expeditions. 

After  the  death  of  De  Soto,  the  Spanish  explorers  debated  the  question  as  to  the  expediency  of 
following  the  course  of  the  river  or  passing  to  the  interior  westward.  Luis  de  Moscoso,  on  whom 
devolved  the  command  of  the  army  of  De  Soto,  held  a  council,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  land 
route  should  be  followed.  Some  of  them  had  seen  the  map  of  the  country  and  judged  that  Mexico 
would  be  only  about  400  leagues  distant.  The  natives  told  of  another  body  of  Spaniards  in  the 
west  of  Florida,  and  these  no  doubt  were  part  of  the  expedition  of  Vasquez  de  Ooronado  traveling 
near  the  heads  of  the  Arkansas  and  Ued  li'ivers.  The  Spanish  navigator  <'abrillo,  while  on  the 
coast  of  California,  seems  to  have  been  told  by  natives  of  the  movements  of  Corouado. 

Moscoso  probably  led  his  men  to  the  interior  about  150  leagues  from  Guachoya.  and  the  eourse 
taken  is  repeatedly  stated  as  being  to  the  west.  It  probably  inclined  southward  and  passed  into 
Texas.  Amongst  Indian  names  mentioned  by  Moscoso's  historians  is  "Naguatex,"  probably  the 
present ,  Nacog&ochcx.  The  .journey  was  closed  at  a  great  river  named  by  the  natives  "  Daycoa.1' 
It  is  probably  now  known  as  l!ra/,os  River. 

The  Indians  of  the  region  provided  the  Spaniards  repeatedly  with  fresh  buffalo  meat  and  with 
buffalo  skins,  but  neither  Moscoso  nor  either  of  his  men  saw  any  of  those  animals  alive,  and.  as 
the  party  advanced,  the  country  appeared  to  be  more  desolate.  Their  principal  food,  mai/e,  became 
very  scarce  in  the  Indian  settlements.  Nothing  could  be  learned  respecting  Christian  travelers, 
and  they  returned  to  the  Mississippi  Valley.  There  they  found  maize  and  decided  to  follow  the 
rhcr  course.  After  many  hardships  they  reached  an  Indian  place  at  the  end  of  November.  l."»4i'. 

Maldonado  and  Arias  set  on)  again  from  Havana  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1542,  when  De  Soto 
was  on  his  death  bed,  and  their  movements  were  seconded  by  Dona  Isabella  de  Kobadilla,  the 
mourning  wife  of  I  >c  Soto.  Seven  monl  hs  were  passed  in  examining  t  he  shores,  but  the  route  taken 
is  uncertain.  In  the  autumn  they  returned  to  Havana  without  result,  intending  after  winter  to 
start  again. 

The  place.  •'  \i!<'<>,"  reached  by  Moscoso  in  November,  15  12,  was  probably  near  the  mouth  of  Red 
River,  and  there  it  was  that  De  Soto  died.  lOarly  in  December  they  stopped  at  another  place,  called 
Aminoya,  where  provisions  were  more  plentiful.  In  the  course  of  the  winter  seven  vessels  or 
barges  were  so  constructed  thai  they  might  be,  used  at  sea  or  with  oars  in  rivers.  These  were  no 
doubt  the  first  vessels  built  in  the,  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  While  the  water  was  high  the  Span 
iards  \\cre  not  molested,  but  when  the  freshet  lessened  the  savages  became  troublesome.  A  young 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUEVEY.     .  529 

Indian  chief,  Quiqualtauqui,  raised  a  general  conspiracy  for  the  destruction  of  the  foreign  intruders. 
Moscoso  held  his  course  only  by  repeated  contests  with  the  savages. 

The  Spaniards  started  at  Minoya  on  the  3d  of  July,  1543,  and  were  followed  by  a  fleet  of 
hostile  (•Mimes,  which  kept  always  in  sight.  They  had  frequent  encounters  and  a  number  of 
Spanish  oflicvrs  and  noblemen  were  killed.  The  last  battle  was  no  doubt  near  the  site  of  the  city 
of  New  Orleans.  There  the  Indians  disappeared,  uml  soon  after  the  Spaniards  noticed  evidence 
of  being  near  the  sea.  At  the  Delta  they  saw  musses  of  drift  timber,  ami  landed  for  the  repair  of 
their  vessels.  Near  the  Gulf  the  depth  in  the  channel  which  they  followed  was  40  fathoms. 

Moscoso  passed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  18th  of  July,  but  having  no  compass  nor 
instrument  for  determining  latitude,  they  did  not  venture  far  from  land.  Turning  to  the  west, 
they  kept  the  const  in  sight  and  sought  for  the  entrance  of  the  Rio  de  las  Palmas.  In  the  course 
of  fifty  days  they  landed  frequently  to  proem e  fresh  water,  avoid  storms,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  fish.  Finally  they  saw  palm  leaves  floating  on  the  sea,  and  some  mountains  were  then 
in  view.  These  must  have  been  the  highlands  of  Tamaulipas.  On  the  10th  of  September,  1543, 
they  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Panuco.  The  ships  had  been  separated,  but  they  arrived  in 
succession,  bringing  about  three  hundred  fur  clad  adventurers,  who  were  received  with  great 
rejoicings. 

In  the  spring;  of  1543  Maldonado  and  Arias  again  took  the  field  in  hope  of  finding  traces  of 
De  Soto.  Their  route  is  not  known,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz  in  the  middle 
of  October,  and  there  they  learned  that  Moscoso  with  three  hundred  men  had  reached  Panuco  and 
brought  intelligence  of  the  fate  of  De  Soto.  In  sadness  the  two  explorers  returned  to  Cuba  and 
infoinied  the  widow.  Donna  Isabella  de  Bobadilla,  \ilioni  there  is  much  reason  for  regarding  as  the 
promoter  of  (lie  searching  expeditions  which  have  been  related.  More  than  three  hundred  of  the 
force  led  by  De  Soto  returned  to  civilization,  and  being  widely  dispersed,  the  information  which 
they  brought  was  soon  known  in  Europe. 

ANDRES  DE  OCAMPO,  1543. 

Coronado  :  turned  along  the  channels  of  the  Gila  and  Colorado  Kivers,  and  through  Sonora 
and  along  the  •  --If  of  California;  but  some  of  his  companions,  and  amongst  them  a  Portuguese 
named  Andres  de  Ocampo,  remained  somewhat  longer  in  the  North.  The  friars  were  killed  by 
the  Indians,  but  Ocampo  escaped  and  found  his  way  back  to  Mexico.  Gomara  says,  "He  passed 
from  Qnivera  through  the  country  of  the  Chichimecas  and  came  out  at  Panuco."  This  journey  was 
through  the  legion  now  known  as  Texas.  Towards  the  same  region  appear  to  have  been  directed 
the  travels  of  the  Franciscan  monk  Andres  de  Olmos.  Of  him  Barcia  relates  that  in  the  year 
1514  Olmos  came  to  Panuco,  and  from  thence  went  as  a  missionary  northward  to, the  country  of 
the  "Chichimccas  bravos,  on  the  confines  of  Florid;'."  He  says  that  he  traveled  more  than  400 
leagues,  and  that  he  collected  and  baptized  some  Indians  and  settled  them  at  Tamaulipas.  Other 
travels  were  undertaken  under  the  leadership  of  Julian  de  Samano  and  Pedro  de  Ahamada.  These 
ascertained  that  the  noil  hern  regions  afforded  good  furs,  and  that  some  pearls  had  been  found, 
but  means  could  not  be  obtained  in  Spain  for  verifying  the  statements. 

After  (he  return  of  De  Solo's  men  many  .schemes  were  proposed  for  the  conquest  of  Florida. 
A  Dominican  friar,  Luis  Cancel  de  Barbast.ro,  after  missionary  experience  amongst  the  Indians, 
proposed  to  go  to  Florida.  His  plan  was  approved  by  the  Emperor,  and  the  Viceroy  Meudoza  was 
directed  to  fit  out  a  vessel.  The  command  was  given  to  Captain  Juan  de  Arana,  and  the  ship 
sailed  in  the  year  154!)  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Havana,  and  from  thence  to  the  west  coast  of  Florida. 
She  touched  the  land  on  Ascension  day  in  about  28°  of  latitude.  The  intention  was  to  laud  at 
Tampa  Hay,  but  missing  that  entrance  the  party  landed  at  Apalachee.  There  the  Indians  who 
had  withstood  Narvae/.  and  De  Soto  soon  killed  the  missionaries,  Fray  Diego  de  Tolosa  first  and 
then  Father  Luis  Cancel.  Other  missionaries,  one  of  whom  was  Father  Beteta,  were  willing  to  try 
their  best  on  another  part  of  the  coast,  but  Captain  Arava  being  short  of  provisions  took  the  first 
favorable  wind  and  arrived  in  Mexico  on  the  10th  of  July,  1549. 

Beteta  and  his  associates  were  willing  to  go  to  the  ylace  where  Father  Cancel  perished,  but 
their  otter  was  not  accepted.     The  particulars  are  worthy  of  note  only  as  accounting  for  slow  prog 
ress  iu  geographical  development  along  the  coast  of  Florida. 
II.  Ex.  43 67 


530  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUKVEY. 

The  daugerous  navigation  of  the  Gulf  of  Florida  was  the  occasion  of  several  shipwrecks,  and 
those  who  survived  disaster  at  sea  were  generally  killed  by  the  Indians.  Some  held  as  prisoners 
were  rescued  by  Spanish  visitors,  and  made  known  their  adventures  afterwards  in  Europe.  The 
first  shipwreck  of  which  some  particulars  are  known,  occurred  in  the  year  1545.  Doubtless  the 
vessel  was  large,  as  two  hundred  of  the  persons  on  board  were  killed  by  the  Indians.  Some  were 
reserved  and  held  as  slaves,  and  of  these  some  were  alive  twenty  years  after  their  capture.  One 
was  liberated  by  the  Spanish  Governor,  Don  Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles,  about  the  year  15b'(i,  and 
in  the  preceding  year  another  was  saved  by  the  French  commander  Jean  KiUant. 

In  the  year  1551  a  ship  was  wrecked  near  Cape  Florida.  The  vessel  was  Spanish,  and  was 
returning  with  gold  from  Peru,  under  Captain  Juan  Christoval.  Among  the  passengers  \v;is  a 
young  man,  Heruaudo  Escalante  de  Foutaneda,  who,  "though  the  poorest  of  all,  had  with  him 
25,000  pesos  de  oro.n  Nothing  is  said  of  the  fate  of  other  passengers,  but  young  Fontaneda 
became  a  slave  to  the  Indians,  and  traveled  in  the  country  sixteen  years.  lie  was  finally  liberated 
and  sent  to  Spain  by  Menendez  about  the  year  1560.  L<Y>ntaneda  wrote  a  narrative,  of  his  adven 
tures  but  it  is  of  interest  only  as  furnishing  a  basis  for  the  remarks  made  by  Henna  respecting  the 
Indies.  That  historian  mentioned  many  names  taken  from  Fontaneda. 

A  more  disastrous  shipwreck  occurred  in  the  year  1553.  The  great  Mexican  fleet  sailed  in 
the  spring  of  that  year  from  Vera  Cruz  and  reached  Havana  with  a  thousand  persons,  including 
sailors,  soldiers,  and  wealthy  passengers.  The  ships  carried  gold,  silver,  and  other  valuable  prod 
ucts.  In  passing  the  Bahamas  the  currents  put  them  out  of  the  intended  course,  and  by  a  storm 
they  were  thrown  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  where  most  of  the  vessels  were  sunk.  Of  the  smaller 
vessels  one  returned  to  Vera  Cruz  and  the  other  reached  Seville  in  Spain. 

GUIDO  DE  LAS  BAZARES,  155S. 

Philip  11  became  King  of  Spain  in  the  year  1555,  and  then  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  was  Don 
Luis  Velasco.  New  orders  were  sent  for  the  conquest  and  settlement  of  the  vast  regions  north  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  There  public  affairs  had  flourished  under  Velasco,  and  much  treasure  had 
passed  to  Spain.  The  field  of  discovery  was  extended  northward,  and  in  the  year  1555  a  mining 
establishment  was  opened  in  the  valley  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Itio  Bravo  del  Norte.  This 
for  a  long  time  was  the  most  northern  settlement  in  New  Spain. 

In  the  council  of  the  Indies  in  1557  it  was  decided  to  send  an  expedition  to  Florida,  and  in 
the  following  year  an  armament  was  prepared.  The  viceroy  fitted  out  eleven  ships  and  collected  an 
army  of  fifteen  hundred  officers  and  men.  All  were  taken  by  preference  who  had  sonic  knowledge 
of  the  country.  Some  who  had  betn  shipwrecked  were  included,  and  some  who  had  been  held  as 
slaves  by  the  Indians.  Some  Indians  who  had  adopted  Spanish  customs  were  accepted. 

Among  the  captains  of  this  army  (says  Barcia)  were  six  who  had  been  in  the  province  of 
Coga,  and  there  for  a  time  kept  in  slavery.  The  province  of  Coqa  (Coosa)  is  often  mentioned  by 
the  historians  of  De  Soto,  but  no  writer  mentions  the  return  of  the-  captives  to  Spain.  The  com 
mand  of  the  army  and  fleet  was  given  to  Don  Tristan  de  Luna  y  Avellano,  a  son  of  the  Marshal 
Don  Carlos  de  Luna.  As  usual  a  preliminary  examination  was  made  to  find  a  harbor  proper  for 
the  fleet.  The  reconnaissance  was  conducted  by  Guido  de  los  Bazares,  and  this  was  probably  his 
first  service,  as  his  name  is  not  mentioned  in  any  earlier  record. 

Velasco,  the  viceroy,  gave  to  Bazares  three  small  vessels  with  sixty  soldiers  and  sailors,  and 
the  fleet  left  Vera  Cruz  on  the  3d  of  September,  1558,  with  instructions  to  examine  the  whole  of 
the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf.  Bazares  sailed  to  Pannco  and  from  thence  coasted  north.  He  landed 
at  a  place  on  the  coast  of  Texas,  and  proceeding  some  miles  northward  found  a  large  bay  which 
he  called  Bahia  de.  San  Francisco.  This  was  probably  Matagorda  Hay.  He  then  went  (as  lie  says) 
to  the  "  Alacraus,"  and  seems  to  have  passed  along  the  coast  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Much 
shoal  water  was  traversed.  He  named  the  place  Bay  of  Shoals,  and  it  was  probably  Chandeleur 
Bay.  Going  eastward  10  leagues  he  entered  a  spacious  port,  and  named  it  Bay  of  Philip,  in  honor 
of  the  King.  This  was  Peusacola  Bay.  "On  the  whole  coast  (says  Ha/ares)  no  port  is  to  be 
found  so  commodious  as  this  Baia  Felif>ina."  He  found  3i  fathoms  of  water  on  the  bar.  The 
breadth  of  the  entrance  is  given  as  half  a  league,  and  on  one  side  was  an  island  7  leagues  in 
length.  In  the  back  ground  of  the  bay,  hills  of  red  clay  were  seen.  Bazares  sailed  eastward  20 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  531 

leagues  from  Pensacola  entrance,  and  then  observed  that  the  trend  of  the  coast  changed  to  south 
east.  He  was  twice  beaten  back  by  contrary  winds  from  the  vicinity  of  Cape  San  Bias,  and  the 
weather  became  rough  and  cold.  But,  as  he  had  found  a  port  for  the  expedition  of  General  Luna, 
lie  deemed  it  proper  to  return  to  Mexico,  and  he  reached  Vera  Cruz  ou  the  14th  of  December,  1558. 
It  is  remarkable  that  the  narrative  of  Bazarcs  contains  no  allusion  whatever  to  the  previous 
explorations  and  discoveries  along  the  coast  of  that  vicinity  by  Maldonado  and  Arias  Gomez,  who 
had  been  there  repeatedly.  Bazares  mentions  all  his  results  as  new  discoveries.  But  as  only 
fifteen  years  had  elapsed  some  of  Maldouado's  pilots  and  companions  were  probably  alive  in  some 
of  the  harbors.  Cortes  made  no  mention  in  his  letters  of  the  previous  exploring  expeditious  of 
Cordova  and  Grijalva  along  the  coast  of  Mexico  and  Yucatan,  nor  would  he  allow  his  soldiers  to 
mention  their  names  in  the  letters  which  they  sent  to  Spain. 

On  the  llth  of  Juue,  1559,  the  fleet  of  Don  Tristan  de  Luna  sailed  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the 
northward.  The  chief  pilot  of  the  expedition  was  Juan  Rodrigiiez.  After  being  seventeen  days 
afloat  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  eight  days  afterwards  came  in  sight  of  the 
coast  of  Florida,  probably  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  San  Bias. 

The  expedition  of  De  Luna  was  unfortunate.  Soon  after  the  army  was  lauded  a  hurricane 
destroyed  the  fleet.  Only  one  ship  was  left,  which  happily  had  started  for  Vera  Cruz.  The  army 
suffered  for  want  of  subsistence.  The  province  of  Coosa  was  sought,  but  it  was  a  vast  wilderness 
tilled  with  savage  tribes.  Some  of  the  soldiers  perished  with  hunger  and  thirst,  and  others  were 
killed  in  battles  with  the  savages.  In  one  of  the  expeditions  it  seems  that  they  approached  the 
.Mississippi  and  crossed  it. 

French  Protestants  had  made  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  at  places  that  seemed  to 
threaten  the  safety  of  the  Spanish  silver  fleets  on  the  home  voyages,  and  these  induced  expedi 
tions  conducted  by  the  Spanish  Admiral,  Don  Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles;  he  was  an  officer  of 
distinction,  and  had  served  under  Charles  and  Philip  II.  In  the  American  colony  he  had  gained 
wealth.  His  only  son  commanded  the  Mexican  fleet,  which,  as  already  stated,  was  cast  away  on 
the  coast  of  Florida,  in  the  year  1553.  Eleven  years  afterwards  when  liberated  from  an  accusation, 
he  requested  permission  and  assistance  for  sending  an  expedition  to  Florida.  The  grant  was  con 
ferred  by  the  King,  on  condition  that  Menendez  should  make  a  survey  of  the  Florida  coast,  and 
try  to  effect  some  settlements.  His  fleet  was,  therefore,  in  lieu  of  a  searching  expedition  enlarged 
to  the  number  of  ten  vessels,  which  carried  six  hundred  men  as  officers,  soldiers,  sailors,  and 
landsmen.  The  conditions  in  his  instructions  enjoined  that  within  three  years  he  should  explore 
the  country  of  Florida,  including  inlets  and  bays,  and  "  mark  them  so  that  they  could  be  laid 
down  on  the  sea  charts  and  made  known  to  mariners;  he  was  to  survey  the  ports,  rocks,  and  currents, 
and  make  a  description  of  them,  so  that  the  secrets  of  the  coast  might  be  brought  clearly  to  light." 
Meanwhile  it  was  expected  that  he  should  settle  six  hundred  men  to  cultivate  the  country,  plant 
sugar  cane,  and  erect  forts  for  defense,  as  amongst  the  valuables  landed  were  one  hundred  horses, 
two  hundred  head  of  cattle,  four  hundred  swine,  and  the  same  number  of  sheep  and  goats.  The 
outfit  was  ample,  and  the  privileges  extensive. 

But  when  Menendez  was  about  to  sail  it  became  known  in  Spain  that  French  Huguenots  had 
settled  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  it  was  also  said  that  French  reinforcements  were  to  follow. 
The  Spanish  King,  therefore,  enlarged  the  commission  of  Meuendez,  and  authorized  him  to  at 
tack  and  promptly  destroy  any  heretics  found  in  Florida.  The  entire  armament  consisted  of 
thirty-four  vessels,  and  upwards  of  twenty-six  hundred  men.  Menendez  was  made  perpetual 
Adelantatlo,  heredita  ry  Governor,  and  Captain-General  of  Florida.  He  hastened  to  that  coast,  came 
suddenly  upon  the  French,  and  destroyed  them  in  September,  1563.  After  erecting  some  fortifi 
cations  he  sailed  to  Havana,  and  was  there  joined  by  all  the  vessels  of  the  fleet.  Further  means 
were  then  taken  fur  search  respecting  his  sou.  Some  ships  were  sent  to  Saint  Augustine,  and  in 
person  lie  went  to  the  west  side  of  the  peninsula  on  the  10th  of  February,  1566.  At  Charlotte 
Harbor  he  found  some  Christians  held  as  captives  by  the  Indians.  These  he  liberated,  but  he 
could  hear  iiothing  concerning  his  son.  He  passed  along  and  examined  the  Florida  Keys,  in  March 
1506,  but  no  sketch  or  map  is  extant  if  any  was  made. 

Of  the  geographical   names  introduced  by  Menendez  only  two  deserve  mention.     One  is 
Tegeste,  for  a  place  near  Cape  Florida,  and  the  other  is  Tocobaga,  for  an  Indian  chief  and  tribe 


532  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

near  Apalaebee  Bay.  Both  names  are  frequently  mentioned  by  Herrera,  ami  doubtless  lie  took 
them  from  Menendez.  The  names  occur  on  maps  of  the  period,  and  on  some  were  applied  to  the 
greater  part  of  Florida. 

After  many  struggles  with  the  French,  with  the  Indians,  and  even  with  his  own  soldiers,  and 
some  excursions  east  and  west  on  the  peninsula,  Don  Pedro  Menendez  returned  to  Europe  in  the 
year  1567.  The  King  (Philip  II)  gave  him  200, 000  ducats,  and  made  him  Governor  of  Cuba. 

In  the  year  1573' Don  Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles  gave  the  government,  of  Florida  to  his 
nephew,  Menendez  Marquez,  who  undertook  some  nautical  surveys  along  the  Atlantic  coast. 

FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  ADVENTURERS,  1555-'67. 

French  and  English  privateers  followed  Spanish  navigators  at  an  early  date  in  the  West 
Indies.  One  English  adventurer  is  mentioned  as  appearing  at  Porto  Rico  as  early  as  the  year 
1519.  The  French  seem  to  have  led  the  advance  in  the  Gulf  waters. 

Spanish  historians  relate  that  shortly  before  the  arrival  of  De  Soto  the  town  of  Saint  Jago  de 
Cuba  had  been  visited  by  a  French  pirate,  and  that  another  pirate  arrived  at  Havana  in  August, 
1538,  and  destroyed  the  town.  This  seems  to  be  the  earliest  intimation  of  the  presence  of  French 
men  in  that  quarter. 

JTakluyt  mentions  as  the  tirst  English  adventurer  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  a  certain  Robert 
Tompson,  who  had  settled  at  Seville,  with  another  Englishman  named  Fie  Ids.  Both  obtained  a 
royal  license  to  goon  commercial  affairs  to  the  West  Indies.  At  the  Canary  i  -.lands  they  em 
barked  on  a  Spanish  VCSM!  commanded  by  ('apt.  Leonard  Chi'ton,  who  had  in;.nied  in  Cadi/,. 
The  owner  of  the  ship  was  John  Sweeting,  an  Englishman,  who  had  settled  in  that  city.  They 
sailed  in  company  with  ether  vessels,  and  by  way  of  San  Domingo  reached  Vera  Cruz  in  April, 
1550.  So  far  as  we  know,  this  is  the  first  English  voyage  to  that  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Tompsou's  travels  into  the  interior  of  Mexico  have  no  interest  for  onr  narrative  of  coast  discovery 
or  development. 

Roger  Bodenham,  another  Englishman  settled  at  Seville  as  a  merchant,  also  went  to  Mexico. 
He  says  that  he  embarked  on  that  Mexican  fleet  that  crossed  the  ocean  under  command  of  Don 
Pedro  Menendez  in  May,  15G4.  But  the  date  thus  given  is  erroneous,  as  it  is  known  that 
Menendez  sailed  in  June  of  the  year  1565.  Moreover,  his  expedition  went  only  to  the  east  .coast  of 
Florida.  It  is  true,  however,  that  Menendez  conducted  a  great  merchant  fleet  across  the  ocean  in 
the  year  1556,  and  possibly  Bodenham  went  out  with  that  fleet.  We  know  that  the  sou  of  Don 
Pedro  Menendez  was  shipwrecked  with  a  returning  Mexican  fleet  in  the  year  l.Vi.'j  on  the  coast  of 
Florida. 

Hakluyt  mentions  the  voyage  of  a  certain  John  Chilton,  and  also  the  voyage  of  Henry 
Hawkes,  both  of  whom  went  to  Mexico.  But  these  peaceful  excursions  were  followed  by  \\arlike 
expeditions. 

Sir  John  Hawkins,  in  the  year  1562,  took  negro  slaves  to  San  Domingo,  sold  them  there,  and 
with  the  proceeds  took  a  valuable  cargo,  and  returned  to  England  by  way  of  Florida  Ke\s.  He 
was  again  in  the  Gulf  three  years  later,  having  sailed  from  England  with  three  vessels  on  the  18th 
of  October,  1564.  On  that  voyage  also  he  took  slaves  to  the  West  Indies,  unc  compelled  the 
Spanish  settlers  to  buy  them  at  his  own  price. 

After  traversing  the  Caribbean  Sea,  the  vessels  arrived  at  Cape  San  Antonio  on  the  17th  of 
June,  1565.  By  currents  the  navigation  became  difficult,  but  after  some  trouble  he  again  entered 
the  Gulf  of  Florida.  Hawkins  was  the  tirst  Englishman  who  explored  the  Tortugas  Islands,  and 
in  July  he  passed  the  Bahama  Channel  and  coasted  along  the  east  side  of  the  Florida  peninsula. 

For  his  third  voyage  Hawkins  sailed  from  •  Plymouth  in  October,  15G7,  with  six  vessels. 
Passing  as  before  by  way  of  the  coast  of  Africa,  he  took  negrois.  went  to  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and 
from  thence  to  Cape  San  Antonio.  But,  when  near  that  cape,  he  was  encoiinteicd  by  a  furious 
storm  on  the  12th  of-  August,  1C6S,  and  was  forced  into  the  Gulf.  While  seeking  a  port  on  the 
west  coast  of  the  peninsula,  a  hurricane  from  the  eastward  constiaiued  him  to  cross  the  Gulf  and 
take  refuge  in  the  port  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  On  the  way,  however,  he  captured  three  Spanish 
vessels  with  passengers,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  procure  water  and  provisions  as  their  ransom. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  533 

The  port  of  Vera  Cruz  was  entered  without  opposition  ;  but  a  few  days  after  tbe  arrival  of 
Hawkins  lie  was  attacked  by  a  Spanish  fleet  which  had  brought  out  the  new  Mexican  Viceroy, 
Don  Martin  Uenriquez.  Many  of  the  English  were  killed,  some  were  captured,  and  only  two  of 
the  ships,  the  Minion  and  the  Judith  escaped.  These  were  soon  after  separated,  and  in  the 
Minion,  the  commander  with  a  shattered  vessel  floated  fourteen  days  on  an  unknown  sea.  On 
the  8th  of  October  they  reached  land  somewhere  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  .las  Palmas,  the 
boundary  between  Mexico  and  Florida.  At  Vera  Cruz  some  of  the  crews  of  the  wrecked  vessels 
had  been  taken  on  board  of  the  Minion.  The  ship  was  so  much  crowded  that  some  of  the  com 
pany  preferred  to  risk  their  lives  on  sliore,  either  amongst  the  Indians,  or  by  trusting  to  the 
benevolence  of  Spanish  settlers.  After  taking  in  water  for  the  voyage  Hawkins  sailed,  and  after 
enduring  many  hardships  arrived  in  England  on  the  20th  of  January,  1509.  Doubtless  the  party 
left,  about  one  hundred,  landed  near  the  River  Santander.  Differing  in  regard  to  the  best 
course  for  their  extrication,  fifty  of  the  number  traveled  along  the  coast  southward,  in  hope  of 
finding  a  Spanish  settlement.  The  others  went  northward.  They  chose  as  captains  or  leaders 
John  Hooper  and  David  Ingram.  But  being  soon  attacked  by  hostile  Indians,  twenty  five  of  the 
party  returned  and  joined  those  who  had  traveled  southward.  The  remaining  twenty-five  kept 
on  northward  and  with  them  was  Ingrain.  They  inarched  towards  the  Rio  Bravo;  but  nothing 
is  known  of  their  fate. 

Hakluyt  mentions  only  one  other  English  captain  as  having  entered  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  up 
to  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  This  was  William  Michelson,  in  the  ship  Dogge,  who  chased 
and  captured  several  Spanish  vessels.  He  was,  however,  encountered  by  a  Spanish  man-of-war 
and  narrowly  escaped  capture.  As  a  companion  of  Hawkins,  one  who  in  time  became  famous 
was  Sir  Francis  Drake.  He  was  in  the  Gulf  in  1568.  Hakluyt  seems  to  have  been  the  first  in  the 
issue  of  sailing  directions,  but  the  notes  were  probably  transcribed  from  Spanish  documents,  as 
the  orthography  of  the  Spanish  names  is  perfect.  The  descriptions,  however,  make  no  reference  to 
points  above  the  twenty-fourth  parallel,  nor  to  harbors  of  the  north  and  west  coast  of  the  Gulf; 
but  the  Florida  Keys  and  the  Tortugas  are  mentioned.  At  this  time  no  sailing  directions  had 
been  compiled  in  Spain.  After  the  disastrous  expeditions  of  Narvaez,  De  Soto,  Luna,  and  others, 
a  Spanish  author  of  the  period  exclaims :  "  To  the  south !  to  the  south  !  there  lie  our  treasures," 
and  that  feeling  seems  to  have  been  general  amongst  his  countrymen. 

On  the  Atlantic  coast  also  where  the  Spaniard  Gomez  had  coasted  even  to  New  England, 
ajid  Menendez  had  planned  a  colony  on  Chesapeake  Bay,  progress  was  stopped.  On  the  Pacific 
coast,  Cabrillo  and  Vizcaino  had  passed  above  Cape  Meudocino,  but  nothing  was  done  afterwards 
for  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Occasionally  some  earnest  religionist  ottered  for  a  mis 
sionary  tour  to  the  north,  but  the  attempts  made  did  not  prosper. 

Some  disastrous  shipwrecks  induced  orders  for  the  survey  of  the  Florida  Keys  and  other  parts 
of  the  coast,  but  no  record  is  left  if  the  surveys  were  made.  Each  year  the  Spanish  fleets,  with 
treasure  from  the  Mexican  mines,  made  their  voyages  through  the  middle  and  northern  parts  of 
the  Gulf,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  any  vessel  at  that  time  passed  into  the  Mississippi  Delta.  The 
settlements  founded  by  Cortes  in  Yucatan  and  Mexico  were  maintained,  and  attempts  were  made 
to  extend  them  northwards,  but  the  progress  was  very  slow. 

Usually  the  fleets  from  Spain  passed  south  of  Dominica  or  Guadaloupe,  and  sailed  along  the 
southern  coasts  of  Porto  Rico,  San  Domingo,  and  Cuba,  and  then  rounded  into  the  Gulf  by  way  of 
Cape  San  Antonio.  Menendez,  in  the  year  1507,  was  the  first  navigator  who  entered  from  the 
eastward  against  the  Gulf  Stream  in  order  to  reach  Havana,  but  in  general  the  custom  was  retained 
to  sail  by  the  south  shore  of  Cuba.  From  Cape  San  Antonio  to  New  Spain  two  routes  were  used, 
one  for  summer  and  the  other  only  in  winter.  These  were  defined  by  the  Alacrans  and  other 
dangerous  reefs.  The  landmarks  relied  on  for  arrival  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  were  the  high  peaks 
of  Orizaba  and  the  hills  of  Saint  Martin.  These  were  noticed  by  Grijalva  in  the  year  1519.  Be 
tween  September  and  April,  when  northers  were  likely  to  happen,  ships  kept  further  from  the 
coast  and  went  outside  of  the  Alacrans,  the  Vermeja,  the  Triangle,  and  otlfer  banks  and  reefs  of 
the  coast  of  Yucatan. 

Amongst  the  sailing  directions  quoted  by  Hakluyt  from  the  Spanish  authority  was  the  follow 
ing  :  "  If,  being  near  the  Tortugas,  you  sound  and  find  white  sand  very  fine,  you  are  east  and  west 


534  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

with    them,     *     *     *     but  if  black    sand   is    brought   up   you    arc   north  and    south    with  the 
Tortugas." 

MENENDK/,  i:.7:i. 

When  the  Admiral  Don  Pedro  Menendez  was  granted  by  the  King  the  government  of  Cuba, 
a  nephew,  Pedro  Menemlee  Marqnez,  was  commissioned  in  the  year  lf>73  to  make  a  survey  of  the 
coasts  of  Florida.  Barcia  says  that  Marquez  had  on  this  occasion  no  cosmograpber,  and  that  no 
sea  chart  could  be  made  ;  but  he  made  such  a  description  of  the  coasi  that  "the  chart  could  be 
constructed  afterwards."  In  this  way,  doubtless,  it  was  treated  by  the  cosmographer,  Don  Juan 
Velasco. 

It  seems  probably  that  what  we  call  the  Marquesas  Keys  take  their  designation  from  the 
navigator. 

In  the  year  1579  order  was  given  for  a  survey  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Florida,  and  that  latitudes 
and  distances  should  be  registered.  P>ut  the  order  was  disregarded,  as  the  President  of  the  Council 
of  the  Indies  left  his  place  before  the  survey  was  commenced. 

NEW  MEXICO,  1581-'83. 

In  the  year  1581  the  Franciscan  friar  Augustine  Ruiz  set  out  from  the  valley  of  Saint  Barthol 
omew,  in  Mexico,  for  exploration  to  the  northward.  With  eight  soldiers  he  reached  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Kio  Bravo,  and  that,  since  the  time  of  Corouados,  has  been  named  the  province  of 
Tiguas,  or  Tiques.  There,  at  a  distance  of  250  leagues  from  Santa  IJarbara,  the  soldiers  left  through 
fear  of  the  Indians  and  made  their  way  to  Mexico.  But  Kuiz  and  the  friar  Francisco  Lopez  re 
mained  with  the  natives,  who  seemed  to  be  friendly.  Anxiety  in  regard  to  them  induced  the 
sending  of  another  member  of  the  order,  Friar  Bernardin  Beltram,  and  he  went  out  acconipauied 
by  some  soldiers. 

There  was  then  a  wealthy  settler  in  the  valley  named  Antonio  Espejo.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  courage,  offered  to  lead  a  northern  expedition,  and  also  meet  the  expenses,  provided  that 
certain  advantages  should  be  conceded  to  him.  This  was  done.  He  gathered  a  company  of  soldiers, 
procured  horses,  mules,  munitions,  and  victuals,  and  started  from  the  valley  on  the  10th  of  No 
vember,  1582.  He  traveled  along  the  course  of  the  great  Rio  del  Norte,  passed  many  Indian 
tribes,  and  named  the  country  New  Mexico.  On  his  route  he  was  told  that  the  Indians  had  killed 
the  two  friars,  Euiz  and  Lopez,  and  the  natives  mentioned  also  the  passage  of  Narvaez  through 
the  region.  .  West  of  the  river  they  sought  Acoma  and  Zuni  and  were  informed  of  the  march  of 
Coronado.  Some  Spaniards  remained  there  after  his  time. 

Espejo  went  further  west,  but  most  of  his  companions  left  the  service,  and  returned  by  way  of 
the  Kio  Bravo  to  Mexico.  With  those  who  remained  he  seems  to  have  passed  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  river,  and  then  went  eastward.  They  were  in  the  Buffalo  country  in  July,  1583.  Finding 
a  river  running  south  they  went  in  that  direction  120  leagues,  everywhere  finding  herds  of  cattle. 
They,  no  doubt,  thus  traversed  the  western  part  of  the  State  of  Texas. 

Soon  after  these  discoveries  by  Kuiz  and  Espejo,  the  military  expedition  of  Ofiate  set  out,  and 
as  a  result  the  city  of  Santa  Fe  was  settled.  In  a  work  printed  at  Madrid  in  158ti  it  is  plainly 
stated  that  the  Kio  Bravo  empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  But  long  alter  some  European  geog 
raphers  represented  that  river  as  emptying  into  the  Gulf  of  California. 

Barcia  relates  that  in  the  year  1592  a  certain  Friar  Diego  Perdonio  returned  to  Mexico  after 
traversing  a  great  part  of  Florida,  but  the  particulars  of  his  journey  arc  not  known. 

A  Spaniard,  Omana,  is  mentioned  by  Barcia  as  having  started  fiom  the  Kio  Bravo  to  go  east 
ward,  and  that  at  a  distance  of  150  leagues  he  arrived  at  a  river  1  league  in  breadth.  This  may 
have  been  the  Red  River  or  the  .Mississippi. 

In  the  year  1013  there  were  English  settlements  on  Chesapeake  Bay,  on  ground  then  regarded 
by  Spaniards  as  the  eastern  coast  of  Florida.  To  Spaniards  the  motions  of  the  English  seemed 
to  be  encroachments,  and  in  consequence  the  attention  of  Spanish  settlers  was  drawn  to  interme 
diate  countries,  in  particular  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  valley  of  the  Kio  Bravo. 
Two  enterprising  captains,  Joseph  Trivino  and  Bernarbe  de  la  Casas,  offered  to  settle  the  lower 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  535 

part  of  New  Leon,  as  the  region  around  the  Rio  Bravo  was  then  called.  As  late  as  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  that  region  included  the  greater  part  of  Texas.  Permission  for  the  con 
quest  was  sought  from  the  Marquis  de  Guadalcacar,  who  was  made  Viceroy  in  the  year  1612,  but 
lie  would  not  give  his  consent,  preferring  to  send  all  papers  relating  to  the  proposal  for  the  decision 
of  the  King  of  Spain.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  result.  Mention  is  made  that  in  the  year  1630 
a  Portuguese  captain,  Vinceute  Gonzales,  sailed  up  a  large  river  which  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Some  have  supposed  that  it  was  the  Mississippi,  but  the  notice  is  so  vague  that  no  infer 
ence  can  be  founded  upon  it. 

During  the  Thirty-Years  War,  privateers  and  pirates  had  no  restraint,  and  buccaneers  flour 
ished.  In  one  port  of  "Flanders  alone  could  be  counted,  in  the  year  1634,  not  less  than  three  hun 
dred  barks  manned  by  pirates.  Dutch,  English,  and  French  filibusters  were  chasing  Spanish 
ships  in  all  directions.  In  1640  the  buccaneer  Pierre  le  Grand,  from  the  Tortugas,  with  a  band 
of  twenty-eight  desperadoes,  attacked  the  ship  of  the  Spanish  Vice- Admiral  of  the  Mexican  fleet, 
and  took  all  the  treasure  found  in  the  vessel  to  France. 

Some  years  earlier  the  Mexican  fleet  when  passing  through  the  Bahama  channel  was  met  by  a 
heavy  storm.  Some  of  the  vessels  were  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Florida ;  the  Admiral's  ship  foun 
dered,  her  papers  were  lost,  and  thus  the  affairs  of  Florida  were  brought  into  confusion.  Only 
two  of  the  ships  escaped  and  finally  reached  Cadiz. 

Early  in  January,  165(5,  Spanish  galeons  sailed  from  Havana  with  the  Marques  Monte  Alegri, 
but  by  a  furious  gale  were  soon  driven  back  and  scattered  in  the  Gulf.  The  flag-ship  was  lost, 
and  the  disaster  was  so  notable  that  Don  Diego  Portiachuclo  de  Ribadeueira,  a  prebendary  of 
Lima,  wrote  a  history  of  it,  which  was  printed  at  Madrid  in  the  following  year. 

It  is  probable  that  a  Spanish  navigator  in  the  year  1669  went  up  the  Mississippi,  and  also  up 
the  Ohio,  but  there  is  no  detailed  record  of  the  voyage.  Mention  is  made  in  a  general  way  of  the 
voyage  of  .aii  Englishman  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  in  the  year  1670. 

The  Governor  of  Florida,  Don  Juan  de  Hita  y  Sala$ar,  seems  to  have  given  attention  to  the 
southern  part  of  Florida  and  the  keys,  and  probably  was  moved  by  the  disastrous  shipwrecks. 
To  the  council  he  represented  the  need  of  a  survey  of  the  dangers,  and  he  proposed  a  mission  for 
civilizing  the  Indians.  The  country  to  which  he  refers  as  that  of  the  Cazique  Carlos  was  the 
region  about  Charlotte  Harbor,  and  he  included  the  Florida  Keys.  As  a  result  it  is  only  known 
that  one  Franciscan  missionary  went  over  to  the  Indian  provinces,  by  which  is  meant  the  coast 
opposite  to  the  port  of  Havana. 

ROBERT  DK  LA  SALLK,  l(i(«. 

The  Canadian  Sieur  Nicolet  appears  to  have  been  the  first  who  reached  some  tributary  of  the 
Mississippi.  In  the  year  1639  it  is  believed  that  he  was  on  the  waters  of  the  Wisconsin.  Thirty 
years  later  the  same  river  was  found  by  the  Jesuit  father  Allouez.  But,  amongst  Frenchmen, 
Father  Marquette  and  his  companion,  Sieur  Jolliet,  were  the  first  who  reached  the  main  channel 
of  the  Mississippi.  They  passed  out  of  the  Wisconsin  and  into  the  waters  of  the  main  river  on 
the  17th  of  June,  1(57;>>.  Marquette  and  Jolliet  had  several  conjectures  in  regard  to  the  probable 
direction  of  the  stream.  By  them  it  was  deemed  possible  that  it  might  end  in  Chesapeake  Bay  or 
some  other  estuary  of  the  Atlantic.  So  also  in  the  uncertainty,  it  might  go  westward  into  the 
Pacific,  or  pass  southward  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  They  went  south  to  the  vicinity  ot  the 
mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  and  finding  the  course  not  changed,  the  conclusion  was  that  it  emptied 
into  the  Gulf.  The.  party  turned  back  on  the  17th  of  July,  1673,  and  arrived  in  Canada  at  the 
end  of  summer.  Father  Marquette  put  on  his  maps  "Conception  River,"  but  in  his  journal  it  is 
invariably  written  "Mississippi."  The  name  is  of  Indian  origin  and  was  known  under  other 
forms,  as  "Mesi-sipi,"  "  ..Vetchisipi,"  &c.  By  the  Indians  it  was  made  known  to  the  French  before 
it  had  been  seen  by  the  missionaries. 

Hubert  de  la  tialle,  when  commanding  Fort  Frontenac,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  was 
informed  of  the  existence  of  the  great  river,  and  planned  an  expedition  to  complete  the  work  of 
exploration  as  it  had  been  left  by  Marquette  and  Jolliet.  He  intended  to  pass  down  the  Missis 
sippi  to  its  month,  take  possession,  and  develop  for  his  own  and  his  country's  benefit  and  glory 


536  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

the  resources  of  that  central  artery  of  North  America.  In  May,  1678,  he  obtained  a  patent  from 
the  King  of  Prance  "to  endeavor  to  discover  the  western  part  of  New  France,  through  which  it  is 
probable  a  road  might  be  found  leading  to  Mexico."  He  was  also  authorized  to  erect  such  forts 
and  habitations  as  might  be  needful  for  his  purposes.  At  some  point  west  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara 
he  built  a  ship,  and  passed  into  Lake  Michigan  with  provisions.  A  small  fortification  was 
erected,  and  another  on  the  banks  of  the  Illinois  River,  in  order  to  secure  his  route  on  the  return. 
After  many  difficulties  he  began  the  descent  of  the  river  in  canoes  on  the  13th  of  January,  1682 
with  twenty-one  Frenchmen  and  a  number  of  Canadian  Indians.  Father  Zenobe  Membre,  who 
was  one  of  the  party,  wrote  a  report  of  the  voyage,  and  Sieur  Henri  de  Tonty,  the  most  active 
associate  of  La  Salle,  subsequently  became  an  energetic  explorer  in  the  same  region.  In  the 
narratives  of  that  time  the  Mississippi  is  mentioned  as  "Riviere  Colbert,"  in  honor  of  the  prime 
minister  of  France,  the  patron  of  La  Salle.  Some  of  the  contemporary  accounts  name  the  region 
through  which  the  river  flows  "  La  Louisiane,"  in  honor  of  the  King  of  France.  The  expedition 
passed  the  mouths  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri,  and  on  the  12th  of  March  was  at  the  mouth  of 
Arkansas  River.  Some  Indian  tribes  were  passed  on  the  route,  probably  the  same  as  had  been 
mentioned  in  the  report  of  De  Soto.  The  mouth  of  the  Red  River  is  indicated  erroneously,  and 
no  name  is  attached  to  the  river. 

On  Eiister  Sunday  (29th  of  March)  the  explorers  arrived  at  the  Delta  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
on  the  6th  of  April  reached  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Three  bands  were  then,  equipped 
to  sound  and  explore  the  passes  of  the  river.  La  Salle  took  the  western  side,  M.  de  Tonti  the 
middle  channel,  and  Sieur  Dautray  the  eastern  pass.  All  the  channels  were  found  to  be  navigable, 
and  were  reported  .as  being  deep.  The  parties  again  united  on  the  Oth  of  April,  and  with  religious 
ceremonies  "took  possession"  of  the  country.  La  Salle  wished  to  explore  east  and  west  of  the 
Delta,  but  want  of  provisions  obliged  him  to  return.  He  started  northward  on  the  10th  of  April, 
and  iu  September  was  again  at  the  port  on  Lake  Michigan.  In  the  year  1085  he  was  again  in 
France  preparing  an  expedition  for  moving  up  the  Mississippi.  The  issue  of  the  adventure  was 
unfortunate.  Two  years  later,  after  having  traversed  the  region  watered  by  the  great  river,  La 
Salle,  in  1687,  was  killed  by  mutineers  when  lie  was  endeavoring  to  get  back  to  New  France.  The 
force  which  he  led  was  ample.  In  four  vessels  he  took  two  hundred  and  eighty  persons — soldiers, 
workmen,  and  mechanics — with  implements,  provisions,  and  munitions  for  the  establishment  of  a 
fort.  On  the  1st  of  August,  1684,  the  vessels  sailed  from  Rochefort,  and  after  passing  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  were  apparently  moved  by  chance  towards  the  Delta.  They  passed  far  to  the 
westward  of  the  entrance,  and  at  last  anchored  in  Matagorda  Bay.  Excepting  the  commander, 
all  were  discouraged,  and  two  of  the  vessels  returned  to  France.  La  Salle  remained  witli  one 
vessel,  and  from  a  camp  near  the  entrance  of  the  bay  made  several  excursions  in  hope  of  finding 
some  branch  of  the  Mississippi.  By  a  series  of  mishaps  his  vessels  were  all  destroyed,  and  he 
was  thus  deprived  of  the  possibility  of  succor  from  the  French  colony  at  San  Domingo,  to  which 
the  intention  was  to  have  recourse  in  the  event  of  disaster.  Hence  it  was  essential  to  reach  the 
Mississippi  by  land  in  order  to  communicate  with  France  by  way  of  Canada.  On  the  22d  of  April, 
1686,  he  set  out  on  a  northeastern  course,  probably  to  avoid  the  marshes  and  river  months.  Many 
streams  were  passed  before  he  reached  a  place  inhabited  by  Indians.  The  savages  received  the 
Frenchmen  in  a  friendly  manner,  and  promised  favor  to  all  of  that  nation. 

Here  La  Salle  fell  dangerously  ill,  and  was  detained  by  fever  during  two  months;  and  in 
that  period  much  of  the  provision  was  consumed  by  his  party.  Some  of  his  men  deserted,  others 
died.  The  commander  was  thus  constrained  to  return  to  the  fort,  which  be  reached  after  an 
absence  of  six  months,  on  the  17th  of  October,  1686.  He  again  took  the  field  on  the  7th  of 
January,  1687,  leaving  the  fort  in  charge  of  the  Sieur  le  Barbier,  but  at  some  point  between  the 
Brazos  and  Trinity  River  he  was  slain,  as  already  related,  on  the  19th  of  March,  1687,  by  some- 
reckless  members  of  his  party. 

The  French  had  been  anticipated  in  this  region.  La  Salle  and  his  men  found  Spanish  horses 
in  common  uso  amongst  the  Indians,  and  some  of  them  were  procured  for  the  transportation  of 
the  baggage.  Moreover,  some  of  the  Indians  were  in  Spanish  costume,  and  were  possessed  of 
iron  tools  and  silver  spoons.  Some  pictures  of  saints  and  papers  were  found  amongst  them,  and 
a  few  Spanish  words  were  in  use,  as  "capita"  for  commander,  and  "cohavillo"  for  horse.  The 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  537 

Indians  were  much  in  fear  of  the  Spaniards,  ami  frequently  mentioned  that  inroads  had  been 
made  in  their  country  from  the  northwest. 

The  conspirators  who  murdered  La  Salle  resolved  to  settle  in  the  country  of  the  Cenis,  but 
soon  quarreled  among  themselves,  and  some  of  the  ruffians  were  thus  killed.  The  adherents  of 
I, a  Salle  continued  his  intended  exploration,  and  again  set  out  in  June,  marching  to  the  northeast. 
Amongst  them  were  a  brother  and  a  uephew  of  La  Salle.  Several  large  rivers  were  crossed,  and 
on  the  27th  of  June  they  crossed  what  is,  doubtless,  Bed  River.  At  the  end  of  July  the  mouth 
of  the  Arkansas  was  reached,  and  at  the  first  French  habitation  the  party  embarked,  on  the  1st 
of  August,  to  return  to  Canada.  Few  of  the  names  given  by  La  Salle  and  his  French  companions 
to  rivers  and  places  in  Texas  are  now  known  iu  geography.  One  exception  is  that  pertaining  to 
the  little  river  near  his  Fort  Saint  Louis,  namely,  "  La  Riviere  des  Bceufs,"  which  the  Spaniards 
translated  as  "  Rio  de  las  Vacas,"  and  which  is  at  present  known  as  Lavaca  River. 

in  the  summer  of  the  year  1685,  La  Salle's  friend,  the  Sieur  Henri  deTouty,  was  notified  from 
France  that  La  Salle  had  sailed  for  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  De  Tonty  therefore  embarked 
in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  for  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  left  Fort  Saint  Louis  on 
the  Kith  of  February,  1086.  He  reached  the  Gulf,  but  finding  no  trace  of  La  Salle,  sent  out  two 
canoes  to  make  search.  One  of  these  went  westward  towards  the  coast  of  Mexico,  the  other  went 
eastward.  Each  made  about  thirty  leagues  and  then  stopped  for  want  of  fresh  water.  De  Tonty 
noticed  that  the  Gulf  waters  rose  and  fell  "not  more  than  two  feet  perpendicularly  on  the  coast." 
He  found  also  the  cross  with  the  arms  of  the  King  of  France,  which  La  Salle  had  set  up  in  the 
year  1682.  It  had  been  displaced  by  floods,  and  was  therefore  removed  and  set  at  a  point  on 
higher  ground  about  five  leagues  further  up  the  stream.  De  Tonty  addressed  a  letter  to  La  Salle 
and  left  it  in  the  care  of  some  Indian  chief  at  the  Mississippi  delta,  and  that  letter  was  found 
fourteen  years  afterward  in  possession  of  the  same  Indians  by  the  French  officer  Bienville. 

De  Tonty  was  a  man  of  uncommon  energy.  After  thorough  search  for  La  Salle  in  vain,  he 
proposed  to  his  companions  to  return  to  Canada  by  way  of  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
members  of  his  party  were  unwilling  to  leave  a  known  course,  so  turning  back  they  kept  along 
the  Mississippi,  and  arrived  at  Montreal  near  the  close  of  July,  1685.  He  introduced  the  name 
"Red  River"  in  our  geography,  and  says  of  it:  "The  Indians  call  this  great  river  Riviere  Rouge, 
because  it  deposits  a  sand  which  makes  the  water  as  red  as  blood."  De  Tonty  states  that  he  made 
a  map  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  that  the  map  was  sent  to  France,  but  nothing  is  known 
respecting  it. 

JUAN  ENRIQUEZ  BARROTO,  1685. 

Information  respecting  La  Salle's  voyages  was  sent  to  Mexico  by  Don  Andres  de  Ochoa  y 
Carate,  commander  of  the  Spanish  fleet  in  Gulf  waters.  He  obtained  the  particulars  by  the 
capture  of  a  French  privateer  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan.  On  receipt  of  the  intelligence  the 
Marques  de  la  Laguna,  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  sent  at  the  end  of  the  year  1684  a  pilot  named  Barroto 
to  Havana,  with  order  to  the  Governor  of  Cuba  that  without  delay  a  vessel  should  be  made  ready 
for  an  expedition  to  the  Gulf. 

Barroto  is  recorded  as  "  a  distinguished  mathematician,  and  a  man  of  great  experience  in 
these  waters."  He  was  intrusted  with  the  command  and  was  instructed  to  sail  to  the  bay  of 
Apalache,  and  then  to  examine  the  coast  for  any  settlement  that  La  Salle  might  have  established. 
He  left  Havana  iu  January,  and  "  registered "  the  bays  and  capes  of  the  north  coast,  more 
particularly  that  part  between  Apalache  Bay  and  the  cape  which  he  calls  Cabo  del  Lodo  [Cape 
of  Mud].  He  traversed  also  the  Baia  de  Santa  Maria,  which  is  now  known  as  Tensacola  Harbor. 
But  no  settlement  was  found,  nor  any  trace  whatever  of  Europeans.  Many  hardships  were 
encountered,  and  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Vera  Cruz.  Barroto  sent  a  narrative  and  chart  to 
the  Marques  de  la  Laguua,  who  transmitted  the  documents  to  the  King.  The  chart  is  not  extant, 
but  the  report  mentions  the  name  Cabo  de  Lodo  [Muddy  Cape]  as  applied  to  the  projecting  spits 
and  broken  ground  at  the  delta.  That  name  appears  on  all  Spanish  charts  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1686  another  viceroy,  Don  Melchor  Portocarrero,  Count  of  Monclova, 
arrived  iu  Mexico  with  a  commission  which  authorized  him  to  expel  the  French  from  the  Gulf, 
H.  Ex.  43 68 


538  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AJSD  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

and  to  destroy  their  settlemeuts.  He  reached  Vera  Cruz  in  September,  1086,  and  assembled  a 
counsel  of  pilots  and  commanders,  and  by  them  the  chart  made  by  Barroto  was  inspected.  The 
viceroy  learned  as  the  result  that  Barroto  had  not  closely  examined  the  coast,  and  that  foreigners 
might  be  where  Barroto  had  not  been.  Two  armed  vessels  were  prepared  to  expel  the  French, 
and,  as  was  then  usual  on  such  occasions,  two  smaller  vessels  were  fitted  out  to  make  preliminary 
search.  These  were  intrusted  to  the  command  of  Don  Martin  de  Eibas  and  Don  Pedro  de 
Iriarte,  but  the  chief  pilot  was  Barroto. 

The  vessels  sailed  from  Vera  Cruz  on  the  1st  of  January,  1687,  for  the  bay  of  Apalache,  but 
violent  storms  and  contrary  winds  in  crossing  the  Gulf  delayed  the  passage  so  that  Apalache 
was  not  reached  until  the  beginning  of  May.  It  seems  probable  that  the  experience  of  the  pilot 
Barroto  as  a  navigator  alone  saved  the  vessels  from  destruction.  They  finally  entered  a  spacious 
bay  and  found  two  fathoms  of  water  on  the  bar.  The  wrecks  of  two  French  ships  were  seen  near 
the  entrance. 

La  Salle  was  killed  in  March,  1687,  but  some  of  his  party  were  then  living  at  Fort  Saint 
Louis.  The  survivors  sailed  for  Havana  because  the  winds  were  unfavorable  for  Vera  Cruz,  but 
to  that  port  they  turned  after  a  stay  of  three  days  on  the  coast  of  Cuba.  At  Havana  they  had 
been  given  up  as  lost  in  the  furious  storms  that  prevailed  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  The  viceroy 
therefore  hastened  the  departure  of  two  armed  vessels  under  the  command  of  Don  Andres  de 
Pes  and  Don  Francisco  Gomarra.  They  had  the  distinguished  pilot  Luis  Gomez  Kaposo,  and 
examined  the  entire  coast  of  the  Gulf.  On  reaching  Saint  Bernardo  or  Saint  Luis  [Matagorda  Bay] 
they  also  saw  the  remains  of  the  two  ships  of  La  Salle's  expedition.  Having  closed  the 
examination,  they  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz  on  the  14th  of  September,  1687.  Barroto  had  already 
reached  that  port. 

As  successor  to  the  Count  de  Mouclova,  the  Conde  de  Galva  arrived  in  Mexico  and  became 
Viceroy  in  the  autumn  of  1688.  Soon  after  it  was  known  to  him  that  in  the  frontier  settlement  at 
the  north,  three  Frenchmen  had  appeared  who  stated  that  other  Frenchmen  were  yet  alive  in 
that  region.  Orders  were  given  to  search  for  the  French.  A  year  earlier  Alonzo  de  Leon  had 
erected  a  small  fortification  south  of  the  Eio  Bravo  and  named  it  in  honor  of  the  Viceroy  "  Fort 
Monclova."  From  thence,  in  January,  1689,  he  set  out  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  horsemen  and 
went  north  and  northeast,  accompanied  by  a  geographer  who  was  to  take  particular  notice  of 
discoveries.  After  a  long  march  a  lagoon  was  reached  and  was  named  San  Bernardo.  Fort  Saint 
Louis  had  been  abandoned.  Eighteen  pieces  of  cannon  were  found  scattered  on  the  ground  and 
some  dead  bodies  of  the  French  invaders.  The  Indians  said  that  five  Frenchmen  of  the  expedition 
were  yet  alive  in  the  "  Proviucia  de  los  Texas,"  which  was  a  hundred  leagues  distant.  This  name 
appears  to  designate  the  country  and  a  Indian  tribe  which  La  Salle  named  the  "  Cenis." 

By  Indian  messengers  Leon  sent  a  letter  to  the  five  Frenchmen,  and  two  of  them  came  to  him. 
In  the  month  of  May  he  presented  them  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  to  that  official  they  made 
known  the  history  of  the  expedition  of  La  Salle,  including  mention  of  his  settlement  at  Saint  Ber 
nard's  Bay,  his  movement  along  the  Mississippi  and  his  ultimate  fate. 

To  preserve  the  power  of  Spain  the  viceroy  resolved  that  the  Gulf  coast  should  be  settled  ; 
that  the  province  of  Texas  should  be  provided  with  defenses,  and  that  possession  should  be  taken 
of  the  best  naval  position  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  For  strengthening  the  armament  at 
Peusacola,  Andres  de  Pes  was  sent  to  Spain  to  make  due  representations  at  court.  To  favor 
settlements  in  Texas  several  small  forts  and  missions  were  established  in  the  year  1690,  and  Don 
Domingo  Terau  was  appointed  Governor  of  "  the  provinces  of  Coahtiila  and  Texas."  But  this 
effort  of  the  Spaniards  to  settle  that  country  was  unfortunate.  Indians  were  numerous ;  the  cattle 
died,  and  the  crops  failed.  In  the  year  1693  only  a  few  Spaniards  remained  in  the  province. 

,  On  the  25th  of  March,  1688,  a  Spanish  force  sailed  from  Vera  Cruz.  The  war  ship  was  secured 
in  Mobile  Bay,  and  the  smaller  vessel  passed  westward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  which 
river  was  then  known  as  l!io  de  la  Palicada.  The  earlier  name  "Eio  del  Espiritu  Santo"  was 
apparently  then  forgotten.  The  adventure  was  fruitless  and  the  vessels  were  again  at  Vera  Cruz 
on  the  10th  of  May. 

Under  the  orders  of  the  viceroy,  Andres  de  Pes  went  to  Spain,  and  the  King,  pleased  with 
his  intelligent  and  patriotic  exertions,  named  him  Admiral  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  fleet;  and  for 


UNITED  STATUS  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  539 

services  already  rendered  conferred  on  him  the  habit  of  the  order  of  St.  lago.  He  returned  to 
Mexico  in  the  year  1692  with  the  royal  sanction  for  completely  fortifying  Pensacola. 

In  the  following  year  (April  8,  1693)  two  Spanish  vessels,  under  the  direction  of  De  Pes, 
entered  Pensacola  Bay,  and  the  learned  Professor  Siquenza  at  once  declared  that  it  was  the  same 
harbor  in  which  Pamfllo  de  Narvaez  disembarked,  and  which  Diego  de  Maldouado  had  discovered 
under  the  name  of  "Achnsi"  in  De  Soto's  time.  Pes  and  Siquenza  examined  all  the  shores  and 
indentations  in  boats,  and  gave  names  to  the  points,  capes,  bays,  and  rivers.  Many  of  the  names 
appear  on  charts  of  the  present  day.  At  Mobile  Bay  the  same  navigators  explored  only  near  the 
entrance  but  did  not  enter  the  body  of  the  bay.  Keeping  on  westward  they  came,  on  the  1st  of 
May,  to  a  point  which  they  named  "San  Miguel,"  aud  judging  that  there  might  be  some  passage 
towards  the  Mississippi  they  entered  with  boats,  but  found  only  broken  ground.  Through  a 
narrow  channel  they  entered  a  large  lake,  but  beyond  it  could  not  pass  into  the  river,  and  in 
consequence  they  returned  to  their  ships.  The  name  Puuta  de  San  Miguel  on  later  Spanish  charts 
is  marked  at  the  eastern  entrance  of  Lake  Borgne.  De  Pes  was  afterwards  Governor  of  the  Indian 
council,  and  one  of  the  chief  officers  of  the  Spanish  Admiralty.  In  the  inscription  on  his  monu 
ment  he  is  styled  "  /Sinus  Mexicani  Scrutator." 

De  Soto's  pilot,  Maldouado,  had  reported  Pensacola  Bay  (then  called  Saint  Mary's)  as  being  the 
most  convenient  place  on  the  Gulf  for  a  marine  and  military  establishment,  but  no  settlement  was 
made  there  until  the  year  1690,  when  Don  Andres  de  Arriola  went  from  Vera  Cruz  and  built  a 
fort.  But  its  position  was  commanded  by  higher  ground,  and  there  was  no  fresh  water  inside  of 
the  lines  of  fortification.  However.  110  foreign  enemy  was  to  be  feared,  and  the  neighboring 
Indians  only  were  kept  in  view.  No  fears  seem  to  have  been  entertained  respecting  the  French. 
The  soldiers  of  Arriola  understood  from  the  Indians  that  they  called  the  country  around  the  bay 
"Pan§acola,"  which  they  said  was  the  name  of  a  nation  that  had  been  dispossessed  by  the  present 
owners  of  the  ground.  Arriola  is  styled  in  the  contemporary  record  "The  first  Governor  of 

Pancacola." 

• 

I1JERVILLE,  1698-W. 

Lemoyne  d'lberville  was  a  Canadian  gentleman ;  had  shown  resolution  in  opposing  the 
English  in  Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland,  and  Hudson's  Bay.  He  had  traversed  immense  tracts  of 
land  and  water,  and  after  expelling  the  English  from  Hudson's  Bay  he  aimed  at  establishing 
French  empire  in  North  America,  and  deeming  the  control  of  the  Mississippi  essential  he  per 
suaded  the  French  minister,  Count  Pontchartrain,  after  the  peace  with  England  in  1697,  to  attempt 
the  occupation  of  the  mouth  of  the  great  river. 

Pontchartrain  ordered  the  arming  of  two  men  of  war  at  Rochefort,  aud  gave  the  command  to 
Iberville.  One  account  states  that  Chateaumorand  joined  the  expedition  at  San  Domingo  with 
the  ship  Le  Francois.  Iberville  was  accompanied  by  two  of  his  brothers,  namely,  the  Sieur 
Lemoyue  Bienville  and  the  Sieur  Lemoyne  Souvole,  and  both  of  them  were  distinguished  in  the 
history  of  discovery.  The  expedition  sailed  on  the  17th  of  October,  1698,  and  made  the  passage 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  way  of  San  Domingo.  It  was  accompanied  by  the  French  adventurer 
Laurent  de  Graff,  or  Grave,  who  had  made  himself  formidable  to  the  Spaniards  under  the  name  of 
"  Lorencillo."  He  seems  to  have  served  as  pilot  and  guide. 

Iberville  and  Chateaumorand  reached  Pensacola  on  the  25th  of  December,  and  there  to  their 
disappointment  found  a  Spanish  fort.  So  keeping  on  westward  they  came  to  the  entrance  of 
Mobile  Bay,  and  landed  at  Dauphine  Island.  Here  were  found  skeletons  of  human  beings,  and 
some  authors  judge  that  they  were  the  remains  of  the  unfortunate  followers  of  Narvaez  in  the  year 
l.">29.  Passing  on,  Iberville  took  soundings  and  anchored  near  an  island,  which  from  that  incident 
was  then  named  "Ship  Island."  On  the  llth  of  February  a  little  bay  was  entered,  aud  from  an 
Indian  tribe  was  named  "  la  Baie  de  Biloxis."  Soon  after  a  river  mouth  was  seen,  and  from  another 
Indian  tribe  was  named  "  Riviere  des  Pascagoulas.''  Having  received  from  the  natives  information 
about  a  great  river  which  they  called  "Malbouchia,"  Iberville  and  his  brother  Bieuville  set  out  on 
27th  of  February  from  Ship  Island  in  two  boats  for  exploration,  believing  that  the  river  indicated 
to  them  was  the  Mississippi.  On  the  2d  of  Maich  they  entered  a  large  river  with  turbid  waters. 
After  tracing  the  course  for  60  leagues  they  came  to  an  Indian  nation  called  "Ounia,"  and 


540  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

found  amongst  them  prayer-books  in  which  the  names  of  some  of  the  Canadian  companions  of  La 
Salle  were  written.  The  Indians  had  also,  and  delivered  the  letter  which  Tonti  addressed  to  La 
Salle  in  the  year  1685.  On  the  22d  of  March  they  arrived  at  a  narrow  and  shallow  branch  of  the 
river  leading  eastward.  Two  lakes  were  found  and  named  Lac  Manrepas  and  Lac  Pontchartrain,  and 
a  few  days  afterwards  Iberville  was  joined  (March  31)  by  his  brother  Bienville  at  the  ship  station. 
On  the  12th  of  April  a  little  bay  was  entered  and  was  named  "  La  Baie  de  Saint  Louis,''  but  the 
water  being  shallow,  it  was  decided  to  settle  at  Biloxi.  A  fort  was  built,  and  was  manned  by 
thirty-five  of  the  followers  of  Sauvole  and  Bienville.  Iberville  on  the  4th  of  May  set  sail  for 
France,  intending  to  bring  an  additional  force  for  the  settlement. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1G99  Sanvole  and  Bieuville  made  excursions  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  fort  to  gain  the  friendship  of  the  natives.  At  the  end  of  May,  Bienville  set  out  for  Pasca- 
goula  River.  Six  feet  of  water  was  then  found  on  the  bar. 

On  the  9th  of  June  a  land  journey  was  made  to  Mobile  Bay,  and  the  party  passed  on  from 
thence  to  Pensacola  Bay  to  observe  the  action  of  the  Spaniards,  who  were  then  found  to  be 
established  in  their  fort. 

In  July  two  missionaries  and  a  number  of  Canadians  arrived  at  Biloxi.  When  told  by 
Indians  of  the  new  French  settlement  they  descended  the  Mississippi  in  two  canoes  and  thus 
joined  with  countrymen  who  had  reached  the  same  region  by  way  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

At  a  bend  of  the  river,  28  leagues  from  from  the  sea,  Bienville,  to  his  great  surprise,  found 
an  English  vessel  armed  with  twelve  guns  and  commanded  by  a  Captain  Barr.  When  notified 
that  he  was  an  intruder  the  Englishman  left,  but  threatened  to  return  in  the  following  year.  This 
meeting  was  on  the  15th  of  September  and  the  place  has  since  that  date  been  called  "le  Detour 
aux  Anglais,"  i.  e.,  the  "English  Bend." 

On  the  7th  of  December  Iberville  reached  Biloxi  after  his  visit  to  France,  and  with  him  came 
officers  and  passengers  in  the  ships  La  Renommee  and  LaGironde. 

Grants  seem  to  have  been  conferred  upon  a  Colonel  Wood,  of  Virginia,  who  was  there  resident 
between  1054  and  1064 ;  and  again  in  the  year  1678  a  number  of  persons  are  said  to  have  moved 
from  New  England  for  discoveries  in  New  Mexico,  but  only  casual  mention  can  be  found  of  these 
undertakings. 

When  the  English  settled  in  Carolina,  they  claimed  all  the  territory  westward  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Charles  I,  of  England,  had  granted  by  patent  to  Sir  Robert  Heath,  then  attorney-general, 
the  undefined  region.  By  him  it  was  transferred  to  the  Earl  of  Arundel.  It  is  beyond  doubt  that 
English  adventurers  arrived  on  the  lower  Mississippi  as  early  as  the  year  1099.  Bieuville,  the 
Frenchman,  states  that  on  the  23d  of  April  of  that  year  he  was  informed  by  Pascagoula  Indians 
that  on  the  21st  of  that  mouth  two  Englishmen,  with  two  hundred  Chicasaws,  had  plundered  and 
destroyed  one  of  their  villages.  The  narrative  of  Dr.  Coxe  mentions  that  he  fitted  out  two  vessels 
for  exploration.  These  sailed  from  England  in  the  year  1098,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Barr. 
One  of  the  vessels  had  an  armament  of  twenty-two  guns,  the  other  of  twelve  guns.  In  the  sum 
mer  of  1699  they  were  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  had  as  pilot  the  French  engineer  Secou. 

Captain  Bjirr  seems  to  have  at  first  entered  the  bay  east  of  the  delta,  and  he  calls  it  Nassau  Bay, 
the  same  (says  Daniel  Coxe)  "  which  the  Spaniards  designate  as  Spiritu  Santo  Bay."  After  pass 
ing  the  islands  of  Mississippi  Sound,  Barr  entered  Mobile  Bay.  This  was  probably  near  the  close 
of  the  year  1699.  On  the  homeward  voyage  one  of  Barr's  vessels  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of 
England  and  officers  and  men  were  lost ;  but  the  journal  and  a  full  account  of  the  country  along 
the  coasts  were  saved. 

All  the  bays,  islands,  and  rivers  denoted  by  Iberville  and  Bienville  can  be  readily  identified, 
as  some  of  them  yet  bear  the  names  attached  by  those  explorers :  as  Ship,  Horn,  and  Cat  islands ; 
also  the  Chandelear  Islands,  Saint  Louis  Bay,  Biloxi  Bay,  and  Pascagoula  River,  Iberville  River, 
Lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain,  the  Rigolets,  and  Bayou  La  Fourche. 

In  February,  1700,  De  Tonti  again  passed  down  the  Mississippi  to  inspect  the  settlement  at 
Iberville,  as  he  had  fifteen  years  earlier  journeyed  in  behalf  of  such  as  may  have  been  intended 
by  La  Salle.  The  enterprising  traveler  De  Tonti  died  in  the  year  1704,  at  Mobile  Bay.  He  had 
passed  four  times  up  and  down  the  Mississippi.  In  August,  1700,  the  active  Iberville  died  of  yellow 
fever  at  Havana.  In  the  year  1708  a  French  officer,  M.  Dirond'Artaguette,  arrived  from  France  to  act 


tTNITED  STATUS  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  541 

as  commissary,  and  to  decide  on  the  policy  of  maintaining  a  port.  Massacre  Island  was  examined, 
the  waters  of  the  vicinity  were  sounded,  and  when  in  the  year  1711  the  settlement  at  Saint  Louis 
was  inundated,  Bienville  was  directed  to  remove  to  a  position  8  leagues  farther  down.  The  place 
selected  was  at  the  delta  of  Mobile  River. 

In  September,  1712,  the  King  of  France  conferred  the  management  and  commerce  of  the  French 
colony,  in  Louisiana,  upon  an  enterprising  financier  of  great  wealth,  M.  Crozat,  and  as  was  then 
common  in  governmental  changes  a  new  impulse  was  given  for  explorations.  The  action  of  Spain 
was  at  that  time  feeble.  Fearing  the  French  they  had  endeavored  to  expel  them ;  but  they 
dreaded  also  the  English.  This  condition  was  changed  after  the  grant  of  Louisiana  to  Crozat. 
France  and  Spain  lost  their  common  interest.  Defense  against  encroachments  by  the  English,  and 
the  grant  to  Crozat,  to  which  the  King  of  Spain  had  from  the  first  been  opposed,  were  in  Spain  re 
garded  as  acts  of  hostility.  But  Crozat  inspired  the  French  in  Louisiana  with  a  spirit  of  activ 
ity  of  which  the  Spaniards  became  jealons ;  and  thus  further  expeditions  and  discoveries  resulted 
from  emulation  between  the  two  great  posvers  which  had  then  founded  settlements  on  the  shores  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

By  royal  decree  Crozat  had  exclusive  right  during  fifteen  years  to  send  products  from 
Louisiana  to  France  free  of  duty,  and  to  introduce  slaves  from  Africa.  He  was  accorded  the 
monopoly  of  all  mines  that  might  be  found  in  the  valley  of  tli£  Mississippi ;  was  allowed  to  have 
his  own  commissaries  and  directors  for  exploring  and  for  making  treaties  with  the  Indians,  and  for 
guarding  his  own  private  interests.  The  King  required  merely  the  transportation  needful  and 
provisions  for  officers  and  soldiers  assigned  for  defence. 

The  first  vessel  sent  out  under  the  grant  arrived  in  Louisiana  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1713, 
with  the  Royal  Governor  De  la  Motte  Cadillac  and  some  commercial  directors  and  agents 
appointed  by  Crozat.  With  large  views  that  active  man  gave  attention  not  only  to  the  fur  trade, 
but  also  to  commerce  and  navigation  through  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  His  aim  was  to  take  merchan 
dise  from  Louisiana  to  Pensacola,  to  Tampico,  to  Vera  Cruz,  to  Tuspan,  and  to  Havana.  By  his 
agents,  trading  journeys  were  made  along  the  Mississippi  and  Red  Rivers,  and  amongst  them  the 
most  conspicuous  traveler  was  St.  Denis,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  country.  In  the 
year  1714  he  was  sent  to  the  southwest  amongst  the  Spanish  missions,  then  supposed  to  be  in  the 
province,  and  was  authorized  to  make  overtures  to  the  Spanish  settlers  for  intercourse  and  trade. 
Attended  by  a  few  Canadians  and  Indians,  the  energetic  St.  Denis  entered  Texas  near  the  close 
of  the  year  1715,  and  stopped  in  the  vicinity  which  had  been  occupied  by  La  Salle's  compan 
ions  eighteen  years  earlier.  He  traversed  the  country,  going  southward  and  westward,  and 
crossed  the  rivers,  but  found  no  traces  of  civilization  short  of  the  Rio  Bravo.  A  few  leagues 
westward  of  that  river  was  the  military  post  and  mission  of  San  Juan  Bautista.  St.  Denis  was 
received  by  the  Spaniards  with  kindness.  After  some  time  he  passed  on  to  Mexico  to  seek 
an  interview  with  the  Viceroy,  who  cordially  entertained  proposals,  but  stipulated  that  St.  Denis 
on  hisjreturn  through  Texas  should  conduct  some  Spanish  missionaries  who  were  to  settle  at 
different  stations  on  the  road. 

St.  Denis  left  Mexico  on  the  26th  of  October,  1715,  and  crossed  the  territory  of  Texas  by  the 
route  followed  in  his  advance.  His  Spanish  companions  in  passing  made  several  little  settle- 
ments'amongst  the  Adays,  the  Assiuays,  and  the  Natchitochesiu  the  vicinity  of  Red  River. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  171G,  St.  Denis  arrived  at  Mobile.  Soon  after  other  settlers  and 
troops  were  sent  to  re  enforce  the  posts  founded  by  him  and  to  establish  others.  Merchandise  was 
packed  for  trade  with  the  Spaniards  on  the  Rio  Bravo,  and  on  the  10th  of  October,  1716,  the 
party  of  St.  Denis  again  set  out  from  Mobile  for  the  journey  to  Mexico.  After  reaching  Red 
River  several  missionary  stations  were  visited.  On  the  21st  of  January,  1717,  they  were  at  a 
Spanish  "  presidio,"  which  was  garrisoned  by  seventeen  soldiers.  Beyond  Trinity  River  they 
passed  the  Rio  Brazos,  and  on  the  8th  of  April  the  Rio  Colorado,  on  the  llth  of  May  the  Rio  San 
Marco,  on  the  following  day  the  Rio  Guadalupe,  and  two  days  later  they  forded  the  Rio  San  An. 
tonio.  The  four  days  following  were  occupied  in  traveling  27  leagues  to  the  Nueces  River,  and 
ou  the  21st  of  April  they  arrived  at  the  Rio  del  Norte.  There  the  goods  belonging  to  St.  Denis 
were  seized  by  the  Spaniards.  He  went  to  Mexico  to  claim  their  restoration  ;  but  Don  Baltasar, 
who  had  succeeded  the  Duke  of  Linares,  put  St.  Denis  in  prison.  He,  however,  escaped  and 


542  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

reached  Mobile  iu  March,  1719,  and  found  there  most  of  his  companions.  His  expeditious  rank 
high  iu  value,  and  the  routes  which  he  took  were  carefully  marked  ou  maps  of  the  Mexican 
Gulf  countries.  They  appear  on  sheets  which  show  the  travels  of  Cabega  de  Vaca,  Moscoso,  La 
Salle,  Cavelier,  and  other  resolute  explorers,  and  from  this  time  the  geography  of  Texas  may  be 
regarded  as  settled. 

SAINT  JOSEPH'S  BAY,  1718. 

Crozat  did  not  reap  the  advantages  expected  from  his  Louisiana  grant;  nor  had  he  advanced 
the  interests  of  the  colony.  He  therefore  (in  1717)  renounced  his  privileges,  and  Louis  XV,  of 
France,  accepted  his  resignation. 

Then  (August,  1717)  the  Western  Company  was  formed,  and,  under  the  direction  of  the  noted 
speculator  Law,  the  company  aimed  at  the  control  of  the  foreign  and  domestic  commerce  of  Frauce. 
The  King  granted  to  that  corporation  privileges  more  extensive  than  those  which  had  been  allowed 
to  Crozat.  They  held  under  his  letters  patent  for  twenty -five  years  the  right  to  all  lauds,  coasts, 
ports,  harbors,  and  islands  pertaining  to  Louisiana,  retaining  for  the  Crown  only  fealty  and 
homage.  They  were  at  liberty  also  to  choose  goveruors  and  officers  for  the  command  of  troops. 
Within  the  period  specified  the  company  engaged  to  settle  in  the  territory  six  thousand  white 
persons  and  three  thousand  negroes ;  to  make  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  the  Indian  savages  and 
negroes;  to  build  chapels  and  maiutein  religious  teachers.  Under  this  grant  three  ships  arrived 
at  Danphine  Island  in  February,  1719,  bringing  settlers,  soldiers,  and  goods  for  commerce  with 
colonists  already  settled  on  the  Gulf  shores.  Lemoyne  de  Bienville,  a  man  of  influence,  and  popu 
lar  in  Louisiana,  was  nominated  by  the  company  as  governor.  He  fitted  out  a  party  to  move 
towards  Saint  Joseph's  Bay,  intending  to  make  there  a  military  post,  as  it  was  not  far  from  Peusa- 
cola  Bay.  To  Saint  Joseph's,  therefore,  Bienville  sent  his  brother  with  fifty  soldiers  in  the  year 
1718.  A  fort  was  erected,  and  was  left  in  command  of  M.  de  Gousy.  But  the  Spaniards,  in 
superior  force,  soon  compelled  the  surrender  of  the  place,  and  the  fort  was  destroyed.  The  name, 
and  a  tolerable  representation  of  Saint  Joseph's  Bay,  appear  on  the  maps  of  the  French  geographer 
De  L'Isle.  In  August,  1717,  a  great  storm  inundated  Dauphine  Island  and  destroyed  its  harbor 
by  masses  of  sand.  This  event  necessitated  a  search  for  ship  protection  elsewhere.  Bienville 
found  at  last,  thirty  leagues  from  the  Gulf,  a  place  on  the  Lower  Mississippi,  and  in  the  year  1718 
there  built  some  houses  and  left  men  to  clear  the  ground.  On  this  site  subsequently  arose  the  city 
of  New  Orleans.  It  was  so  named  in  honor  of  the  Bourbon  Prince  who  was  then  regent  of  France. 
On  the  19th  of  April,  1719,  M.  De  Serigny  arrived  with  notice  that  war  had  been  declared  between 
France  and  Spain.  He  brought  a  commission  for  exploring  the  coast  of  Louisiana  in  company 
with  Bienville,  and  he  was  authorized  to  gain,  if  possible,  possession  of  the  Spanish  fort  at  Pensa- 
cola,  as  it  defended  the  only  good  port  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Pensacola  was  sur 
prised  by  Bienville  and  Serigny  in  May,  1719,  but  in  the  following  month  it  was  retaken  bya 
Spanish  force  from  Havana.  Somewhat  later  a  French  fleet,  under  M.  de  Champmesliu,  captured 
the  place;  and  thus  in  the  course  of  six  months  Pensacola  had  changed  masters  three  times. 

In  the  year  1720  a  French  astronomer  of  distinction  was  sent  to  Louisiana.  This  was  Father 
Laval,  professor  of  mathematics  at  Toulon.  His  observations  were  published  at  Paris  in  1728, 
and  with  them  is  included  a  plan  of  the  harbor  of  Pensacola.  Laval,  iu  June,  1720,  set  up  an 
observatory  on  Dauphin  Island  and  observed  for  latitude.  The  result  found  was  37°  17'  1"  for 
his  place  of  observation,  and  he  says  that  he  drew  the  coast  line  of  the  entire  Gulf  13  minutes 
further  south  than  it  had  been  represented  by  earlier  map  makers. 

Laval  made  observations  on  the  currents,  tides,  and  winds  of  the  Gulf,  but  his  operations 
were  interrupted  by  pestilence.  The  pious  father,  deeming  that  "science  was  only  an  accessory 
duty  for  a  man  of  his  profession,"  gave  all  his  time  to  the  care  of  his  sick  soldiers  and  sailors,  and 
as  soon  as  practicable  he  returned  to  France 

GALVESTON  BAY,  1721. 

When  the  King  of  France  ordered  the  movement  against  Pensacola  he  gave  at  the  same  time 
directions  for  pushing  the  French  dominion  to  the  southwest,  indicating  the  "province  of 
Lastekas"  [Texas],  of  which  the  Spaniards  had  possession.  The,  governor  of  the  province,  Don 
Martin  D'Alarcone,  had  in  fact  by  his  policy  increased  the  number  of  settlers. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC!  SUliVEY.  543 

» 

St.  Denis  and  Bernard  de  la  Harpe  had  beeu  sent  to  the  French  settlements  at  the  north 
in  the  year  1719.  This  expedition  of  La  Harpe  was  directed  to  New  Mexico,  but  on  his  return  iii 
January,  1720,  to  New  Orleans  he  found  that  the  Western  Company  had  issued  an  order  for  the 
immediate  settlement  of  Saint  Bernard's  Bay,  which  after  the  time  of  La  Salle  had  not  been 
entered  by  any  French  officer.  Mr.  Belisle,  in  1717,  had  been  left  there,  and  after  many 
adventures  had  returned.  He  was  now  requested  to  go  under  command  of  La  Harpe  to  take 
possession  of  the  bay.  A  small  vessel,  the  "  Subtile,'"  with  twenty  men,  was  assigned  to  La  Harpe, 
and  he  was  named  commandant  of  the  Bay  of  Saint  Bernard.  He  was  to  proceed  without  delay 
and  to  take  possession  of  the  adjacent  country  in  the  name  of  the  company  and  the  King,  and  to 
build  a  fort.  Spanish  settlers  were  to  be  informed  that  the  territory  belonged  to  the  King  of 
France,  in  whose  name  Robert  de  la  Salle  had  taken  possession  twenty-five  years  before. 
Intruders  were  to  be  driven  out  by  force. 

On  the  16th  of  August,  1721,  De  la  Harpe  left  Dauphin  Island  and  sailed  westward  "for  a 
hundred  leagues  or  more."  At  all  places  where  attempts  were  made  to  land  the  natives  were 
hostile.  He  returned  to  Mobile  and  reached  that  place  in  the  middle  of  October. 

C'HARLEVOIX,  1722. 

In  January  the  Jesuit  father^  Charlevoix  arrived  from  Canada,  and  to  him  must  be  conceded 
a  conspicuous  place  as  an  explorer  and  as  the  historian  of  early  times  in  the  northern  region  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  visited  all  the  French  settlements  there  and  gave  to  the  world  the  first 
reliable  description  of  the  country.  He  passed  down  the  Mississippi  and  at  the  mouth,  in 
company  with  the  French  engineer  Paugcr,  he  sounded  one  of  the  passes.  Subsequently  Charle. 
voix  was  shipwrecked  at  the  Florida  Keys,  but  escaped  in  a  small  boat  and  with  it  arrived  at  the 
Spanish  settlement  at  Saint  Mark's.  He  then  passed  along  the  north  coast  of  the  Gulf  to 
Louisiana,  and  finally  returned  to  France. 

The  principal  centers  of  activity  for  the  Spaniards  were  Peusacola  and  Mexico.  From  these 
stations  the  northern  and  eastern  parts  of  the  Gulf  coast  were  explored,  and  travels  were  made 
toward  Texas.  That  territory  was,  however,  relinquished  by  Europeans  in  the  year  1694,  with  the 
exception  of  Spanish  mission  stations  along  the  Kio  Bravo.  In  the  year  1714  French  adventurers, 
again  appeared  in  Texas.  If  any  movements  were  made  for  exploration  in  the  interval  of  twenty- 
years,  the  results  are  not  known.  France  and  Spain  being  at  peace,  travel  followed  the  routes 
between  Vera  Cruz,  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi,  Mobile,  Pensacola,  and  Havana. 

The  movements  of  St.  Denis  so  aroused  the  Spaniards  that  they  made  alliance  with  the  French 
discoverer,  and  sent  Don  Domingo  Ramon  with  some  soldiers  and  Franciscan  missionaries  to 
accompany  Saint  Denis  toward  the  region  watered  by  Red  River.  Several  stations  were  chosen 
and  provided  with  means  for  sustaining  the  missions.  The  province  was  then  named  by  the  Span 
iards  "ia*  Xiievax  Filipinati."  The  Marquis  de  Aguayo  was  the  first  royal  governor,  and  he  entered 
his  province  in  the  year  171(5.  Some  years  of  peace  were  enjoyed,  and  for  some  time  no  expeditions, 
such  as  had  been  induced  by  wars  in  earlier  times,  were  sent  out.  With  the  savage  Apaches  and 
Comanche  Indians  the  Spanish  contended  in  the  interior;  but  for  the  same  period  there  was  no 
naval  enterprise.  The  northwest  parts  of  the  Gulf  coast  were  not  explored  until  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  Humboldt  says  (in  1812)  they  were  "as  unknown  as  the  coasts  of  Africa.') 

In  the  year  1703  Don  Juan  de  Ayala,  an  active  and  intelligent  Spanish  officer,  who  was  well 
acquainted  with  matters  in  Florida,  suggested  an  expedition  from  Saint  Augustine  to  the  Gulf  for 
the  conquest  of  territory  between  that  place  and  Peusacola.  His  proposal  was  laid  before  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  ministers  of  Spain,  Don  Alonzo  Carnero.  and  it  included  the  recommenda 
tion  that  some  point  on  Appalachee  Bay  should  be  fortified.  Ayala  was  appointed  governor  of 
Florida  in  1718,  and  as  no  measures  had  been  taken  on  his  earlier  suggestion,  he  then  ordered  an 
expedition  to  move  from  Saint  Augustine  toward  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Gulf,  and  directed 
also  the  structure  of  a  fort.  The  command  of  the  expedition  was  given  to  Don  Joseph  Primo  de 
Ribera,  "a  soldier  of  great  experience  and  courage,"  and  he  was  furnished  with  all  requisites  for 
building  a  fort  in  the  region  inhabited  by  Indians  at  Appalachee.  A  vessel  with  provisions  was  sent 
from  Saint  Augustine  to  assist  in  the  operations.  Ribera  set  out  by  land  on  the,20tli  of  February, 
1718,  and  arrived  at  the  head  of  the  bay  in  advance  of  the  ship.  He  immediately  began  the  con. 


544  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUltVEY. 

struction  of  a  fort,  and  named  it  Saiut  Mark's,  but  the  party  was  soon  iu  want  of  supplies,  as  the 
vi-ssel  did  not  arrive  at  the  time  expected.  Some  soldiers  were  therefore  seut  to  Pensacola  to  ask 
aid  from  Don  Juan  Pedro  Matamoras,  and  provisions  were  sent  by  that  officer  iu  a  little  coasting 
vessel.  Meanwhile  the  ship  of  Ayala  arrived  at  Saiut  Mark's. 

Bienville  (governor  of  Louisiana)  had  recalled  his  commander  at  Saiut  Joseph's  Bay,  as  th;it 
station  was  desolate.  The  greater  part  of  the  garrison  had  previously  deserted  to  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  remnant  reached  Mobile  iu  a  little  vessel  on  the  20th  of  July,  1718.  The  Spanish 
commander  at  Pensacola  sent  a  few  soldiers  to  take  possession  of  the  bay  aud  build  a  fort. 
Koldau,  who  led  that  force,  found  the  French  defenses  in  ruin,  but  he  promptly  restored  it  and 
made  a  survey  of  the  vicinity  at  the  end  of  the  year  1718.  In  the  following  year  re-enforcements 
came  from  Mexico  under  Don  Gregorio  de  Saliuas,  to  construct  fortifications  upon  a  larger  scale 
at  Saint  Joseph's  Bay,  and  soon  afterwards  the  coast  of  the  peninsula  from  Peusacola  to  Saint 
Augustine  was  explored.  Thence  onward,  iu  the  course  of  time,  parts  of  the  Gulf  coast  were  visited 
by  English,  French,  and  Spaniards,  and  local  settlements  were  founded. 

In  the  year  1846  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  commenced  geodetic  operations  iu  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  in  subsequent  years  latitude,  longitude,  aud  the  magnetic  elements  have  been 
determined  at  many  stations.  Tides  aud  currents  have  been  observed,  aud  the  configuration  of  the 
Gulf  bottom  is  now  as  well  known  as  that  of  the  surface  of  any  part  of  the  adjacent  territory. 
The  geological  structure  of  the  Florida  lleefs  and  Keys  was  investigated  by  the  late  Professor 
Louis  Agassiz,  whose  report  on  the  subject  is  giveu  in  the  printed  annual  report  of  the  survey  for 
the  year  1851.  In  other  volumes  will  be  found  in  detail  the  mention  of  developments  made  in  the 
progress  of  the  work  on  land  and  afloat. 

Titles  of  copies  of  maps  illustrating  Dr.  KohTs  history  of  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  Gulf  of 

Mexico. 


No. 


Name  of  map. 


Year. 


Cuba  and  vicinity,  with  part  of  the  east  coast  of  North  America,  from  Juan  de  la  Cosa. 
The  Antilles,  from  the  map  of  the  world  iu  the  edition  of  Ptoleuiaeus,  Rome 


1500 
1506 

The  Antilles  and  parts  of  America,  from  a  map  of  the  world,  in  Ptolemaeus !     1513 

The  Island  of  Cuba  and  vicinity,  from  the  Globus  of  J.  bchoener,  Frankfort 1520 

1520 


10 

11 

12 
13 
14 

15 


A  map  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  from  a  Spanish  map  of  the  year  —   -- 

[NOTE. — This  is  the  first  map  on  which  the  name  "La  Florida"  appears.] 

A  Spanish  map  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  of  the  year 

The  Mexican  Gulf,  from  the  map  of  the  world  by  Diego  Ribero 

The  Mexican  Gulf,  from  a  French  map  by  Nicolas  Vaillard  de  Dieppe  

[NOTE.— This  is  the  first  map  on  which  the  name  of  the  Tortugas  appears.  ] 

Copy  of  part  of  a  manuscript  chart  preserved  in  Oxford,  England 

[NOTE. — Dr.  Kohl  states  that  this  chart,  which  he  thinks  was  irade  a  little  after  or  before  the  year 

1550,  is  principally  remarkable  as  being  the  first  which  contains  a  name  for  the  Mexican  Gulf— 

"  Golfo  Mexigo."    This  name,  however,  does  not  appear  upon  the  part  of  the  map  copied  by  Dr.  Kohl.] 

The  Mexican  Gulf,  after  a  French  map 

From  a  map  made  by  J.  Bellerns -« 

From  a  French  map  of  the  year 

From  a  map  of  Diego  Homem.in  the  British  Museum 

From  a  manuscript  atlas  of  Juan  Martines 

From  a  manuscript  of  John  Dee,  in  the  British  Museum 

[NoTK. — Dr.  Kohl  remarks, referring  to  a  legend  on  this  map,  "Caualis  Bahama  versus  Septentriouem 

semper  fluit,"  that  this  appear!)  to  be  the  lirst  map  on  which  any  notice  at  all  is  taken  of  the  Gulf 

Stream.] 

From  De  Bry's  map 

Florida  and  Appalathee,  from  Wytllk-t 


16 
17 
Ir-  Florida,  by  Herrera 


1521 
1529 
1547 


155  T 


155  r 
1554 
1556 
1558 
1578 
1580 


1594 
1597 


1600 


li»     La  Florido,  by  H.  Chiaves \     1601 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  STTllVEY.  545 

Titles  of  copies  of  mapx  illustrating  Dr.  KohVs  history  of  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  Gulf  of 

Mexico — Continued. 


No. 


Name  of  map. 


Year. 


24 


34 


35 
3G 


38 
3!) 


40 
41 


43 
44 
45 
40 
47 


20  Golfo  de  Nneva  Espafia,  by  Laet 

21  La  Floride  Espaguole,  by  Sanson  d' Abbeville 

From  a  manuscript  map  of  North  America  by  J.  B.  Louis  Franqueliii 

[NOTE. — Ou  this  map,  as  Dr.  Kohl  observes,  tlie  passes  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  delta  are  for  the  first 

time  represented  as  projecting  with  many  branches  and  islands  into  the  Gulf.] 
23  i  From  "Carte  dela  Louisiane  et  du  Cours  du  Mississippi,"  by  G.  de  1'Isle 

[NOTE. — This  map,  published  by  the  celebrated  French  geographer  and  academician,  De  1'Isle,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  French  Academy,  is  to  be  considered  as  the  first  carefully  prepared  scientific  map 
of  the  regions  bordering  on  the  Gulf.  ] 

Carte  de  la  Louisiane  par  le  Sieur  D'Auville 

Dressde  en  Mai,  1732;  publie'e  en  1752 

[NOTE. — Dr.  Kohl  observes  that  this  valuable  map  may  be  taken  as  the  embodiment  of  all  the  knowl 
edge  and  information  which  the  French  had  acquired  of  the  coasts,  bays,  and  rivers  east  and  west  of 
the  Mississippi  in  the  year  1732.] 

25  '  Partie  de  la  Costa  de  la  Louisiane,  by  N.  Bellin 

26  The  Coast  of  Lonisiane,  by  N.  Bellin 

27  ,  Carte  reduite  des  Costas  de  la  Louisiane  et  de  la  Floride  par  le  Sietir  Bellin,  Ingenieiir  de  la  Marine 

28  Part  of  Texas,  by  Don  Jose'  de  Escandou 

• 

[NoTK. — With  regard  to  this  map  Dr.  Kohl  remarks  that  it  is  one  of  the  first  on  which  the  name  of 
Texas  appears  as  the  name  of  a  province.] 

29  A  map  of  Florida,  from  the  latest  authorities,  by  Jefi'eryg,  geographer  to  His  Majesty 

30  Parte  del  Seuo  Mexicano  ;  from  a  Spanish  manuscript  map  of  the  year 

31  Map  of  Florida,  by  Jeffery 3 


32  '•  Map  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  by  B.  Romans . 


1633 
1656 

1688 


1719 


1733 
1752 


1744 
1744 
1764 
1747 


1763 
1765 
1769 
1774 

Carta  Esferica  del  Seno  Mexicano  construida  en  el  Deposito  Hydrografico  de  Marina  par  Don  Juan  de 
Langara 1799 

The  Gulf  of  Mexico,  after  Humboldt,  by  J.  B.  Poirsou I     1811 

[NoTK. — Dr.  Kohl  remarks  that  these  two  last-named  maps  (Nos.  33  and  34)  were  for  a  long  time  the 
basis  of  all  the  maps  of  the  Gulf.  Hnuiboldt  gives  an  explanation  of  his  map  in  his  political  essay 
on  New  .Spain,  French  quarto  edition,  vol.  I,  p.  52.] 

>  The  descriptions  of  these  two  maps,  as  given  by  Dr.  Kohl,  do  not  correspond  to  the  copies  themselves 

)      in  portfolio. 

The  Delta  of  the  Mississippi,  by  le  Sieur  Divon 

The  Mississippi  Passes,  by  N.  Bellin 

The  Delta  of  the  Mississippi,  from  a  French  Government  map 

Nos.  40  to  47  are  sketches  of  the  five  principal  harbors  and  bays  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  as  they  are  rep 
resented  in  the  Spanish  Portulano  of  1818 : 

Charlotte  Harbor,  by  Romans 

Ponce  de  Leon  Bay,  by  Romans 

Plan  of  the  Bay  of  Peusacola,  by  N.  Bellin 

Harbor  of  Pensacola 

Bay  of  Tampa 

Bay  of  Movila  (Mobile) 

Bay  of  Gal vez-Town 

Bay  of  S.  Bernardo 

[NoTK.— In  addition  to  the  maps  above  named,  there  is  also  on  file  in  the  archives  a  map  compiled  by 
Dr.  Kohl,  showing  the  progress  of  the  discovery  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  indicating  by  colors  the 
limits  of  the  several  explorers  with  the  dates  of  their  explorations.] 


1725 
1744 

1764 


1774 
1774 
1774 

1818 
1818 
1818 
1318 

1818 


H.  Ex.  43 69 


546  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVKY. 

ABSTRACT  OF    CONTENTS. 

History  of  discovery  and  exploration  on  the  Pacific  count  of  the  1'nittd  Xtutex. 

California  (1532). — Expedition  sent  out  by  Cortez,  and  commanded  by  Diego  Hurtado  Mendoza,  for  the  explora 
tion  of  the  coast  of  California  and  islands  adjacent. 

California  (1533-'34). — Second  expedition  fitted  out  by  C<  iten,  and  placed  under  command  of  Diego  Becena  and 
Hernando  de  Grijalva. 

California  (1535-'36). — Expedition  commanded  by  Cortes  in  person,  reaches  the  coast  of  California.  Lands  at  a 
port  on  the  Gulf  of  California. 

California  (1539-'40). — Voyage  of  I'lloa  to  the  Gulf  of  California  under  the  general  direction  of  Cortes.  Other 
expeditions  sent  out  by  Mendoza,  the  successor  of  Cortes,  under  Corouado,  Alarcon,  Diaz,  Cabrillo,  and  Ferrelo. 

Sir  Francis  Drake  (157$). — Keaches  the  Pacific  coast  in  about  latitude  48C  on  his  voyage  around  the  world.  Sail* 
southward  along  the  coast  in  search  of  a  harbor,  and  puts  into  "  Drake's  Bay." 

Captain  Thomas  Carendisli  (1587). — Makes  a  voyage  to  the  Pacific,  but  reaches  only  the  southern  part  of  California. 

Francinco  Gali  and  Jayme  Juan  (1584). — The  success  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  induces  the  Spaniards  to  renew  their 
northwestern  explorations.  Fleet  fitted  out  by  the  archbishop  and  viceroy  of  Mexico  to  survey  the  northwestern 
coast  of  America.  Voyage  of  Gali  from  the  East  Indies  to  the  coast  of  California. 

Sebastian  Kodrigufz  Cermenon  (1595). — Accompanies  an  expedition  to  the  California  coast  which  results  unfortu 
nately,  the  vessel  being  wrecked  in  or  near  San  Francisco  Harbor. 

Sebastian  Vizcaino  (1596-l(i03). — In  the  course  of  two  voyages  to  California  accomplishes  a  detailed  reconnaissance 
of  the  coast  as  far  north  as  Cape  Mendocino. 

2feit'  Mexico  (1581-1611). — Explorations  in  New  Mexico  by  Friar  Augutitin  Ruiz,  Antonio  de  Espejo,  and  by  Juan 
de  OBate.  Founding  of  Santa  F6. 

Ferrer  Moldonado  and  Juan  de  Fuca  (1609-T25). — Reports  of  discoveries  in  the  northwest  and  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
not  well  authenticated. 

Juan  Iturbi,  Francisco  de  Ortega  and  Estaran  Carboneli  (1632-'U6). — Desultory  expeditions  to  the  California  coast, 
contributing  but  little  to  the  advance  of  geographical  knowledge. 

Don  Luis  Cestin  de  Canae,  Don  1'edro  Porter  y  Casaiiata,  Don  JSernardo  liernal  de  Pifiaihro,  Don  Jt>idoio  de  Atondu 
(1642-'c5). — Various  attempts  to  continue  examinations  of  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  California  and  of  the  ocean  shore. 
Also  to  Iminil  settlements  at  points  suitable  for  harbors  for  the  Manilla  galleons. 

Jesuit  missionaries  (1697-1717). — Explorations  and  settlements  under  the  direction  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  Juan  Maria 
Salvatierra  and  Francisco  Kino. 

Fathtr  Jean  Ui/arte  (1721). —  Detailed  exploration  and  partial  surveys  of  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  California. 

Fath<~»  Sigismmido  Tararal,  Fatlnr  Ftrnando  Consul;,  Father  Winreslaus  Linl •  (\TM-Wj). —  Examinations  of  the  Gulf 
of  California  and  of  the  country  adjacent  continued  by  Jesuit  missionaries  until  their  expulsion  from  California  in 
1767. 

HtiHxian  expeditions :  Capt.  Victus  Bering,  Capt.  Tsthirikoic,  Lieutenant  Synd,  Captain  Hrinilryn,  Lieutenant  J.ncanhoff 
(1728-'66). — Explorations  in  Bering's  Strait  and  the  waters  in  the  vicinity  ;  also  of  the  Aleutian  Islands.  Occupation 
of  the  peninsula  of  Alaska ;  formation  of  trading  establishments  and  of  hunting  stations. 

French  expeditions  (1673-1750). —  Reference  to  a  number  of  expeditions  under  French  auspices  in  search  of  the 
"  Great  River  of  the  West." 

M.  Ctiappe  d'Auteroche  (1769). —  Expedition  under  the  auspices  of  the  French  Academy  to  California  for  the 
purpose  of  observing  the  Transit  of  Venus. 

Franciscan  Missions  :  Fattier  Jitnipero  Serra  and  others  (1769-74).— Establishment  of  mission  stations  by  Franciscan 
friars  at  San  Diego,  San  Buenaventura,  and  Monterey  as  bases  for  the  gradual  settlement  of  California  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  as  centers  from  which  exploring  expeditious  started  to  the  northern  parts  of  the  country. 

Son(-ra-San  Diego  (1775-76). — Travels  through  the  interior  of  California. 

Fatlitr  Francisco  Garces,  Don  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  Don  Jlnmo  rie  Heteta,  Don  Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodet/a,  Don 
Juan  de  Ayala  (1775). —  Expedition  from  San  Bias  for  the  exploration  of  the  northwest  coast.  First  survey  of  the  Bay 
of  San  Francisco.  Highest  latitude  reached  in  fifty-eight  degrees  north. 

San  Francisco  Bay  (1775-76). — 'Ayala's  report  of  San  Francisco  Bay  as  a  "cluster  of  harbors,"  with  his  plans.and 
surveys,  leads  to  further  explorations  and  to  the  founding  of  the  Presidio  mission. 

Don  Fernando  de  Birera  JUoncada,  Don  Felipe  Here  (1776-77). —  Conducts  a  land  expedition  from  Monterey  north 
ward.  Crosses  the  plains  of  San  Bernardino.  Mission  of  Santa  Clara  founded. 

Don  Ignacio  Ar1iaya,Don  Jtian  de  la  Bode ya  (1779). —  Expedition  to  the  northwest,  organized  by  the  Spanish  Court 
and  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  reaches  the  latitude  of  Mount  St.  Elias. 

Don  Fernando  Bit-era,  Fattier  Jiinipero Strra  (1777-'84). —  Establishment  of  additional  mission  stations  on  the  coast 
of  California  between  San  Diego  and  San  Francisco. 

Capt.  James  Cook  (1778). —  Voyage  to  the  northwest  coast  of  America  ;  touches  at  various  points  between  Cape 
Gregory  (now  Cape  Arago)  and  Nootka  Sound.  Great  impulse  given  to  other  expeditions,  both  private  and  public, 
by  Cook's  voyages. 

Francois  Galoup  de  la  J'eroiise  (1786). — Voyage  to  the  northwest  ccast  of  America.  Exaniiinit  ion  and  sin  vry  of  the 
coast  from  near  Cape  Flattery  southward  to  the  45th  parallel. 

Captains  Hanna,  Diron,  Portlocli,  Berkeley,  and  others  (17e5-'87). — Commercial,  trading,  and  exploring  expeditions  to 
the  northwest  coast.  Some  of  these  sent  out  by  an  association  of  London  merchants,  named  the  Nootka  Sound 
Company. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  547 

• 

'i.  John  M mres  (1788). — Explorations  cm  the  northwest  coast  in  the  vicinity  of  Fuca  Strait,  Cape  Flattery,  and 
lo  llie  southward. 

!><>»  Kslaran  Martinez,  Don  (loiualo  Lopez  dv  //aro(1788-'89). — Examinations  of  Nootka  Sound  and  the  surrounding 
country.  Explorations  in  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 

]>on  Francisco  Eliza,  Von  Salvador  Fidali/o  (1789). — Expedition  sent  to  Nootka  to  take  possession  of  the  island  for 
the  King  of  Spain. 

Don  Manuel  Qiiimper  (17!»0). — Sails  from  Nootka  Island,  passes  along  the  southwestern  shore  of  Vancouver  Island, 
and  examines  the  Canal  de  Haro. 

Malaspina,  Don  Francisco  EKza  (1791). — Voyage  from  Acapulco  as  far  north  as  the  latitude  of  Mount  St.  Elias. 
Accurate  determinations  of  many  points  in  latitude  and  longitude.  Don  F.  Eliza,  commander  at  Xootka,  explores  the 
Strait  of  Fuca  and  Rosario  Strait  and  enters  the  Gulf  of  Georgia. 

Man-hand  (1791). — Makes  a  voyage,  partly  for  trading  purposes  and  partly  for  exploration,  to  the  northwest  coast. 
Passes  along  the  coast  from  Sitka  Sound  southeastward!}7,  and  examines  points  of  land,  ports,  and  bays  on  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island  and  in  its  vicinity. 

Vancouver  (1792-'95). — Makes  three  voyages  of  exploration  and  discovery  to  the  northwest  coast  of  America. 
Explores  Admiralty  Inlet  and  its  branches ;  enters  the  Columbia  River,  &c. 

American  explorers  :  Captain*  Cray,  h'endriek,  and  Ingraliam  (17fcg-'93). — Voyages  to  the  northwest  coast.  Explora 
tions  in  the  vicinity  of  Vancouver's  Island,  Gray's  Harbor,  the  Columbia  River,  &c. 

diilinno  and  FaWer  (1792). — Command  the  last  but  one  of  the  Spanish  expeditions  to  the  North  Pacific.  Reach  the 
southern  point  of  Vancouver's  Island,  pass  round  the  island,  repeating  the  movements  of  the  English  explorer,  and  at 
length. join  Vancouver's  party  in  completing  the  survey  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia. 

Cnamiiiio  (1792). — Voyage  of  exploration  to  the  North  Pacific  ordered  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico.  Passes  round 
Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  and  makes  observation  on  the  shores  of  the  neighboring  continent,  but  adds  little  to  the 
stock  of  geographical  information. 

Capt.  W.  R.  Broiighton  (179f>-'98). — Arrives  at  Nootka  in  1796,  and  ascertains  that  the  Spaniards  had  delivered  the 
port  to  the  English.  Then  proceeds  southward. 

l.in-is  and  Clarke  (1804-'06). — Are  commissioned  by  President  Jefferson  to  explore  the  Upper  Missouri  and  find  a 
practicable  route  of  water  communication  with  the  Pacific.  Having  ascended  the  Missouri  tothe  mouth  of  the  Yellow 
stone,  they  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  trace  the  Columbia  River  to  the  ocean. 

I!iiH*i<iii  expedition*.  (1803-'06). — Two  vessels  under  command  of  Captain  Von  Krnsensteru  sail  from  St.  Petersburg. 
Explorations  made  in  northern  parts  of  Russian  America.  Other  explorations  to  the  southward. 

Fur  ronij/anies  (1S06-'21).  —Explorations  made  aud  trading  posts  established  by  the  Northwest  Fur  Company,  and 
theMissouri,  the  Pacific,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Fur  Companies.  And,  under  the  auspices  of  the  British  Government, 
explorations  made  by  Franklin,  Richardson,  Parry,  and  others. 

Russian  settlements  (1812-'41).— Trading  post  and  agricultural  settlement  established  on  Bodega  Bay  by  the 
Russian  Fur  Company.  Occupation  of  the  Farallones,  aud  of  some  of  the  islands  in  Santa  Barbara  Channel. 

Missionary  travels. — Reference  to  limited  extent  of  explorations  from  the  mission  stations  in  California.  No  boats 
or  vessels  being  available,  land  excursions  were  made  yearly. 

Capt.  F.  W.  BeecJiy  (1826-'27). — On  returning  from  a  voyage  to  Bering  Strait,  enters  San  Francisco  Bay  and  com 
pletes  a  survey  of  the  port.  Makes  a  similar  survey  at  Monterey  Bay. 

Sir  Edirard  Jtelcher  (1836-' 42). — Commands  an  expedition  to  the  Pacific  coast  organized  by  the  Lords  of  the  Ad 
miralty,  and  extends  surveying  operations  twice  along  that  coast  from  Mount  St.  Elias  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  including 
a  survey  of  Columbia  River  to  Fort  Vancouver. 

French  explorations  (1820-'42). — Reference  to  the  resumption  of  French  exploratious  on  the  Pacific  coast ;  voyages 
of  IJu  Petit  Thouars  (1837),  La  Place  (1839),  and  Rosamel  (1840)  ;  also  to  the  diplomatic  mission  aud  journeys  of  M. 
Duflot  de  Mofras  (18'10-'42). 

I'nited  Stati*  i-.r/ieditioiis  (1820-'47). — Travels  and  explorations  in  the  far  west  by  Long,  Ashley,  Smith,  Bonneville 
and  others.  Expedition  under  the  command  of  William  A.  Slacum,  U.  S.  N.,  explores  the  Columbia  River.  Map  of 
the  coast  and  country  south  of  the  mouth  of  that  river  compiled. 

railed  Slates  efploritnj  fj-perlilion  :  Lieut.  Charles  Wilkeu  (18;!f-'41). — Fitting  out  of  au  expedition  for  exploring  the 
South  Sea  aud  determining  the  position  of  Pacific  islands,  authorized  by  act  of  Congress.  Sails  in  August,  1838, 
and  arrives  at,  Columbia  River  entrance  in  April,  1841.  Makes  examinations  and  surveys  of  the  lower  reaches  of  the 
Columbia  River,  of  Gray's  Harbor,  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  Admiralty  Inlet,  and  the  Haro  Archipelago  ;  also  of  the  Bay 
of  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  River. 

Orel/on  and  California. — Capt.  J.  C.  Fremont  (1842-'4*i). — Captain  Fremont  commands  three  expeditions  through 
the  interior  of  the  continent.  Is  instructed  by  the  Bureau  of  Topographical  Engineers,  on  his  second  expedition,  to 
connect  his  reconnaissance  of  1842  with  the  surveys  of  Commander  Wilkes  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Carries  a  line  of 
astronomical  observations  across  the  continent,  reaching  the  Pacific  coast  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Bay  of 
Monterey.  His  map  of  ( Iregon  and  Upper  California  is  published  by  the  Senate  in  1848. 

Maj.  If.  If.  Emory,  United  States  Topographical  Engineers  (1846-'47). — Commands  an  expedition  which  starts  from 
Fort  Leavenworth,  Kans.,  in  1846,  and  determines  in  geographical  position  one  hundred  and  twenty  stations  between 
his  point  of  departure  and  San  Diego,  Cal.  Traces  the  southern  boundary  line  of  the  United  States,  and  fixes  the 
nitial  point  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

I'nUed  States  Coast  Surrey  (1848).— Preliminary  arrangements  made  for  beginning  the  survey  of  the  Pacific  coast. 
General  reconnaissance,  triangulation,  astronomical  observations,  and  hydrographic  work  provided  for. 


548  UNITE!)  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUliVEY. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In  September,  1513,  Balboa,  from  the  heights  of  Panama,  discovered  the  Pacific  Oceau;  and 
iu  1520,  Magellan,  sailing  through  the  strait  that  bears  his  name,  saw  the  same  ocean  at  a. 
more  southern  point.  The  record  of  these  resolute  men  closes  abruptly.  Balboa  was  beheaded  in 
1514  by  order  of  Pedro  Arias  de  Avila,  and  Magellan  was  killed  iu  a  contest  with  savages  at  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

The  immediate  successors  of  the  navigators  just  named  occupied  themselves  more  particularly 
with  the  western  coast  of  South  America,  where  they  found  the  empire  of  Peru,  supposed  to  be 
rich  in  gold,  and  no  one  thought  of  advancing  northward  until  1532,  when  Cortes  turned  attention 
to  the  northwest. 

Thus  for  a  period  of  forty  years  (1492-1532),  during  which  the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of 
South  America  had  been  circumnavigated,  and  imperfectly  laid  down  on  maps,  and  the  eastern 
shore  of  North  America  explored  by  Spaniards,  by  English,  and  by  the  French,  and  the  River 
St.  Lawrence  traced  inland  to  a  distance  of  600  miles,  one  quarter  of  the  coast  remained  unknown 
to  Europeans.  Large  scope  was  left  for  the  speculations  of  cosmographers  and  their  views  were 
wild  and  various.  Some  supposed  that  no  continent  existed,  and  that  the  lands  found,  as  Florida, 
New  France,  Labrador,  Greenland,  &c.,  were  only  the  extremities  of  large  islands.  As  such  they 
are  represented  on  early  maps.  But,  most  men  then  living  believed  that  North  America  was  a 
large  peninsula  connected  with  Asia.  Columbus  himself  so  thought  at  one  time.  The  land  was 
supposed  to  stretch  over  into  Asia  from  that  part  of  Central  America  which  was  made  known  by 
Balboa  and  his  successors,  and  by  the  first  expeditious  of  Cortes ;  while  Mexico,  China,  and  Thibet, 
were  represented  as  neighboring  States.  The  Tartar  nomads,  with  their  herds  of  cattle,  were  sup 
posed  to  wander  in  what  we  now  call  "  The  Buffalo  Country,"  and  the  Empire  of  Japan  was  judged 
to  be  where  California  actually  is.  But,  step  by  step,  such  notions  gave  place  to  views  nearer  the 
truth.  Iu  the  course  of  two  centuries,  Japan,  China,  and  the  nomadic  Tartars  were  gradually 
referred  into  place,  and  the  great  Pacific  expanse  between  Asia  and  America  widened  to  something 
like  true  proportion. 

The  prevailing  notions  of  the  time  had  great  practical  influence.  Cortes  and  Mendoza  sailed 
by  charts  erroneously  constructed,  just  as  Columbus  had  been  guided  by  a  map  of  the  Italian, 
Toscanelli,  when  he  discovered  America.  Expeditions  intended  for  discovery  aloug'the  north 
western  coast  were  instituted  merely  because  Japan  and  China  were  supposed  to  be  in  that 
neighborhood. 

1532-1579. 

In  his  third  letter  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V,  Cortes  states  that  Montezuma  informed  him 
that  an  ocean  existed  west  of  Mexico.  Of  the  explorers  sent  out  by  the  Spanish  commander,  some 
reached  the  Pacific  in  the  neighborhood  of  Acapulco,  at  a  point  about  10  degrees  northwestrof  the 
summit  from  which  Balboa  saw  the  ocean.  Others  went  further  in  that  direction  to  explore  auid 
conquer  the  kingdom  of  Mechoacan  and  Colima.  The  last  brought  back  intelligence  respecting 
an  island  rich  iu  pearls  and  gold  and  inhabited  only  by  a  race  of  Amazons.  The  Indians  of 
Mechoacan  asserted  that  some  of  their  tribe  had  visited  the  island  and  that  it  lay  at  a  distance  of 
ten  days  sail  from  Colima.  Cortes  relates  this  in  his  fourth  letter  to  the  Emperor,  dated  October 
15,  1534;  and  it  was  probably  the  first  notice  received  iu  Spain  concerning  California. 

Cortes  hoped  to  find  a  strait  supposed  to  exist  somewhere  south  of  Yucatan,  and  iu  that  direc 
tion  he  sent  Captain  Pedro  Alvarado,  who  reached  Guatemala  in  1545.  Thither  were  dispatched 
the  first  ships  built  by  his  order  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  when  he  marched  to  Honduras  it  was  to 
the  same  quarter  that  the  steps  of  Cortes  were  turned.  When  of  necessity  his  purposes  in  that 
direction  were  abandoned,  active  attention  was  turned  to  the  northwest,  but  probably  one  reason 
for  the  change  turned  upon  the  fact  that  Nufio  de  Guzman,  in  1o30,  conducted  an  expedition  along 
the  Saint  lago  Kiver,  with  a  view  of  conquering  the  kingdom  of  Mechoacan. 

The  river  then  known  as  the  Saint  lago  is  the  largest  in  Mexico.  It  runs  in  a  northwestern 
direction,  and  empties  into  the  Pacific  not  far  from  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  this 
may  be  considered  as  the  earliest  embarkation  of  Spaniards  for  the  northwest.  Guzman  was  the 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUKVEY.  549 

first  who  saw  the  coast  opposite  to  the  rocky  peninsula  of  California.  In  his  report  to  the  Em 
peror  he  mentions  a  people  said  to  lie  living;  at  the  west  in  a  country  surrounded  by  the  ocean,  and 
this  intelligence,  confirming  previous  rumors,  probably  gave  rise  to  the  maritime  expeditions  sent 
thither  by  Cortes  two  years  afterwards. 

* 

CALIFORNIA,  1532. 

The  first  expedition  to  that  region  was  unfortunate  and  produced  no  result.  It  was  com 
manded  by  Diego  HurtadoMendo/a,  a  relative  of  Cortes,  who  with  two  ships  sailed  from  Acapulco 
on  the  30th  of  June,  1532.  He  was  instructed  to  proceed  northwest,  explore  the  western  coast  of 
New  Spain,  and  to  discover,  if  possible,  those  "islands  of  the  ocean,"  rich  in  pearls,  and  inhabited 
by  Amazons,  of  which  Cortes  had  been  informed.  This  voyage  may  therefore  be  considered  as 
the  first  California!!  expedition,  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  Mendoza  ever  reached  that  country. 
But,  pursuing  the  course  indicated,  he  discovered  several  harbors,  and  the  islands  "las  tres 
Marias,"  in  latitude  27°  02'  N.  When  his  provisions  were  much  reduced  his  crew  revolted,  and  he 
sent  back  one  of  his  vessels  with  the  sick  and  discontented.  Nothing  more  is  known  of  this  unfor 
tunate  chief  or  of  his  companions.  The  returning  ship  was  wrecked  on  its  passage,  and  the  few 
who  survived  that  disaster  were  imprisoned  by  Nufio  de  Guzman,  who  was  then  governor  of  the 
northwestern  coast  of  New  Spain  and  the  implacable  enemy  and  rival  of  Cortes.  The  report  of 
these  misfortunes  was  all  the  information  received  by  Cortes  relative  to  the  hapless  experiment. 
Navarrete,  in  his  introduction  to  the  work  entitled  "  Kelacion  del  viage  hecho  par  las  Goletas, 
Sntil  y  Mexicana  en  el  afio  de  1792.  Madrid,  1802,  page  11  et  seq.,"  gives  some  particulars  of 
this  voyage. 

CALIFORNIA,  1533-'34. 

When  Cortes  heard  of  the  loss  of  his  vessels  he  resolved  on  a  second  attempt;  and  hastened  to 
the  harbor  of  Tehuautepec  to  hasten  the  outfit  of  the  Conception  and  San  Lazaro,  which  vessels 
he  placed  in  charge  of  Diego  Becerra  and  Hernando  de  Grijalva,  with  directions  to  pursue  the 
course  indicated  for  their  predecessors ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  diligent  search  for  the 
missing  captain  Mendoza. 

On  the  30th  of  October,  1533,  the  two  vessels  sailed,  but  were  separated  by  a  storm  on  the 
second  night  of  their  voyage.  Grijalva  in  the  San  Lazaro,  anxious  to  rejoin  his  Chief  Becerra, 
sought  him  in  various  directions.  He  went  southward  to  13°  north  latitude;  and  more  than  100 
leagues  west  of  the  coast  of  New  Spain,  an  island  was  discovered  and  named  Santo  Tomas.  One 
north  of  it  he  named  Los  Inoceutes.  These  are  now  known  as  the  Revitta  Gigedo  Islands. 

Finding  no  trace  of  his  commander,  Grijalva  returned,  and  was  subsequently  employed  by 
Cortes  in  exploring  other  parts  of  the  coast  of  New  Spain.  Meanwhile,  Becerra,  the  chief  of  the 
expedition,  seems  to  have  pursued  his  course  to  the  northwest,  but  not  far.  While  yet  on  the  coast 
of  New  Spain,  he  was  murdered  by  his  crew,  who  joined  in  a  conspiracy  against  him  under  the  chief 
pilot  Fortun  Ximeuez.  The  pilot  assumed  command,  reached  the  coast  near  the  harbor  now  called 
La  Paz,  and  as  far  as  known  was  the  first  European  who  set  foot  on  that  soil.  Soon  after  he  was 
attacked  by  the  natives  and  himself  and  twenty-two  of  his  men  were  killed.  The  rest  of  the  crew 
returned  to  New  Spain,  and  at  Xalisco  were  captured  by  Guzman  and  robbed.  Little  is  known 
with  certainty  of  the  proceedings  of  Becerra  and  his  pilot  Ximenez.  It  is  difficult  to  fix  exactly 
the  date  of  arrival  of  the  first  European  vessel  on  the  coast  of  California. 

CALIFORNIA,    1535'-36. 

The  land  reached  by  Fortun  Ximenez  was  supposed  by  Cortes  to  be  situated  between  Mexico 
and  the  Moluccas,  and  possibly  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  celebrated  Spice  Islands.  Full  of 
expectation,  and  desirous  of  searching  again  for  his  missing  relative  (Diego  Hurtado)  a  new 
enterprise  was  planned,  and  Cortes  determined  to  command  it  in  person. 

In  hope  of  finding  another  country  like  Mexico,  and  also  to  be  prepared  against  his  hostile 
neighbor,  Guzman,  a  low  equal  to  that  with  which  he  had  conquered  Mexico  was  assembled  by 
Cortes.  The  whole  consisted  of  not  less  than  four  hundred  Spaniards  and  three  hundred  negroes. 
This  statement  is  cited  by  Navarrete  from  an  old  manuscript,  and  is  given  in  his  work  at  page  17. 


550  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

On  the  point  of  embarkation  a  difficulty  arose,  that  seems  not  to  have  been  foreseen  either 
by  Cortes  or  his  companions.  The  three  vessels,  namely,  the  Santa  Aguida,  San  Lazaro,  and  Santo 
Thomas  proved  barely  sufficient  for  the  transportation  of  a  third  part  of  the  company,  encumbered 
as  it  of  necessity  was,  with  horses,  canoes,  implements,  and  provisions  needful  for  war  and  for  the 
settlement  of  a  colony.  Cortes,  however,  set  sail  from  the  harbor  of  Chiamctlaii  on  the  15th  of 
April,  1535,  bound  for  the  place  where  the  pilot  Ximenez  and  his  crew  had  been  slain.  Without 
difficulty  the  situation  was  identified. 

On  the  1st  of  May  Cortes  saw  the  mountains  of  California,  and  named  them  Las  Sierras  de 
San  Felipe,  and  also  an  island,  which  he  named  Santiago.  Two  days  after  the  party  reached 
the  desired  haven,  where  the  remains  of  the  unfortunate  Ximeues  were  still  to  be  seen.  The  bay 
in  which  this  port  was  situated  they  named  Baia  de  Santa  Cruz.  In  after  years  it  was  sometimes 
called  the  Bay  of  Cortes,  and  also  the  Bay  of  California.  This  last  name,  from  whence  derived  we 
know  not,  was  finally  applied  to  the  whole  country.* 

These  few  names,  facts,  and  dates  contain  all  the  reliable  information  we  have  bearing  upon 
the  history  of  discovery.  The  remaining  records  of  the  expedition  mention  only  shipwreck  and 
disaster.  It  cannot  be  asserted  that  Cortes  discovered  any  part  of  the  coast  north  of  the  bay 
above  mentioned;  nor  is  it  known  how  far  north  he  went  into  the  Californian  gulf.  He  did  not 
succeed  in  transporting  the  rest  of  his  army  and  stores  to  California,  though  he  made  several 
attempts,  and  in  person  he  at  once  returned  to  New  Spain  for  that  purpose.  The  ships  dispatched 
by  him  generally  failed  to  reach  their  destination;  one  with  provisions  arrived  near  the  coast, 
and  was  beaten  back  to  the  disappointment  of  the  men  left  on  the  peninsula,  who  suffered  from 
hunger  and  disease,  while  the  army  marched  hundreds  of  miles  along  the  shore  looking  in  vain 
for  the  lost  vessels. 

Cortes,  ever  active,  encountered  manifold  perils  and  misfortunes  on  the  gulf,  which  in  his  time 
was  called  the  "Sea  of  Cortes,"  but  was  able  to  transport  only  a  small  supply  of  provisions  from 
the  coast  of  Mexico  to  relieve  his  famishing  soldiers  at  the  Bay  of  the  Holy  Cross.  In  the  midst 
of  these  difficulties  he  was  summoned  to  Mexico.  The  arrival  of  his  successor,  the  Viceroy  Don 
Antonio  de  Mendoza,  and  other  affairs  of  importance  made  his  return  desirable ;  but  unwilling  to 
relinquish  his  Californian  enterprise,  and  contemplating  another  expedition,  Cortes  left  a  small 
force  under  the  command  of  Francisco  Ulloa. 

Meanwhile  a  report  was  circulated  in  Mexico  that  Cortes  had  been  lost  at  se^  on  one  of 
his  voyages,  and  great  anxiety  was  expressed  for  his  safety.  This,  and  a  threatened  insurrection 
of  the  Mexican  Indians,  induced  the  Viceroy,  Mendoza,  to  send  a  vessel  in  search ;  and  Douaa 
Juana  de  Zufiiga,  the  wife  of  Cortes,  in  her  extreme  solicitude,  dispatched  ships  for  the  same  pur 
pose.  These  were  all  met  by  the  returning  chieftain,  who  early  in  1536  entered  the  harbor  of 
Acapulco  at  the  head  of  a  fleet  of  six  ships. 

CALIFORNIA,  1S39-MO. 

Cortes,  on  his  return  to  Mexico,  found  much  to  do.  After  settling  his  affairs  with  the  new 
Viceroy,  he  was  called  upon  to  assist  the  Spaniards  in  Peru,  who  were  then  menaced  by  a  general 
revolt  of  the  Indians.  The  little  force  left  at  the  Bay  of  Santa  Cruz  under  the  command  of 
Francisco  de  Ulloa  was  in  consequence  withdrawn. 

The  decree  which  removed  Cortes  from  the  viceroyalty,  constituted  him  "  Admiral  of  the 
Pacific,"  with  command  of  all  the  ports  and  naval  force,  and  reserved  to  him  the  special  right 
of  discovery  and  conquest.  Thus  endowed  for  the  prosecution  of  his  purposes,  he  delegated  the 
command  to  Ulloa,  and  on  the  8th  of  July  that  officer  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  what  proved 
to  be,  as  far  as  regards  geographical  discovery,  the  most  important  and  successful  of  all  the 
expeditions  of  Cortes. 

A  complete  report  of  the  voyage  of  Ulloa,  written  by  Francisco  Preciado,  one  of  his  pilots,  was 
printed  by  Raniusio.  Hakluyt  translated  it  into  English  and  inserted  it  in  his  "Third  and  last 
volume  of  the  voyages,  navigations,  and  discoveries  of  the  English  nation.  London,  1600." 

Ulloa  coasted  along  the  shores  of  Mexico.  Sinaloa,  and  Sonora,  and  supposing  the  newly  found 


•Venegas  Noticia  de  la  California.    Madrid,   1757. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  551 

California  to  be  an  island,  sailed  up  the  broad  passage  (Gulf  of  California),  expecting  to  reach 
China  or  some  other  part  of  "India  Superior,'1  under  which  name  was  then  comprehended  the 
northeastern  part  of  Asia.  But  to  his  disappointment  he  found  fresh  water  at  the  head  of  the 
gulf,  and  the  country  around  the  Eio  Colorado  being  then  a  low  sandy  plain,  it  was  not  easy  to 
decide  where  the  waters  of  the  sea  ended  or  those  of  the  river  began,  or  even  to  discern  between 
land  and  water  in  the  distance.  From  a  small  sand  hill  he  could  see  only  the  river  and  an  unin 
viting  stretch  of  land,  although  some  of  the  party  were  of  the  opinion  that  a  narrow  outlet  could 
lie  traced  leading  to  a  sea  beyond.  The  report  of  Ulloa  left  in  doubt  the  real  nature  of  the 
peninsula.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  in  1577,  regarded  it  as  an  island. 

From  the  head  of  the  gulf,  Ulloa  coasted  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California, 
and  carefully  examined  each  indentation,  hoping  to  find  a  passage.  At  Cape  San  Lucas  he  turned 
to  the  west  and  examined  the  opposite  shore.  With  adverse  winds  and  currents  he  struggled  north 
ward  and  nearly  reached  the  l'8th  parallel  of  latitude.  Occasionally  he  landed;  had  encounters 
with  the  savages,  and  tried  to  convert  his  captives  by  baptism,  and  with  ceremonies  then  customary 
he  took  possession  of  the  region  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Spain.  In  the  course  of  the  winter  of 
1539-'40,  three  attempts  were  made  to  advance  northward  and  westward,  but  the  vessels  were 
always  beaten  back  to  the  starting  point.  The  most  distant  cape  seen  by  the  party  was  named 
by  them  Cabo  Engafio  (Cape  Deceit),  which  is  believed  to  have  been  a  point  or  object  visible  near 
the  30th  parallel  of  north  latitude. 

So  much  sickness  prevailed  amongst  the  companions  of  Ulloa  that  he  was  constrained  at  the 
end  of  March,  1540,  to  send  back  one  of  the  vessels,  the  Santa  Agueda,  to  Mexico  with  the  invalids- 
That  ship  arrived  without  mishap  at  Acapulco  with  a  report  of  the  discoveries. 

After  repairing  the  Trinidad,  which  was  the  least  damaged  of  his  vessels,  Ulloa  remained  on 
Cedros  Island,  intending  to  start  from  thence  on  a  northwestern  course,  "convinced  (he  says)  that 
this  direction  must  bring  him  to  something  good  and  great"!  His  ultimate  fate  is  unknown. 

Cortes  (the  distinguished  patron  of  Ulloa),  who  had  manifested  on  these  expeditious  such 
energy,  and  spent  large  sums  of  money  out  of  his  private  fortune,  was  destined  to  pursue  them  no 
further.  He  never  returned  to  America  after  his  departure  lor  Spain  in  1539. 

The  Viceroy,  Mendoza,  was  thus  left  without  a  competitor  in  the  broad  field  of  adventure. 
Governor  of  Mexico  and  Admiral  of  the  Pacific,  he  availed  himself  of  his  powerful  position  to 
become  a  promoter  of  the  most  important  discoveries  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Circumstances 
combined  to  induce  Mendoza  to  pursue  explorations  in  the  course  opened  by  Cortes.  It  was  not, 
in  his  time,  certain  that  the  Gulf  of  California  was  closed  at  the  north,  and  there  was  a  lingering 
hope  that  it  might  afford  a  passage  to  China.  That  the  nature  of  this  gulf  "should  be  brought 
thoroughly  to  light"  was  therefore  an  early  subject  of  Mendoza's  attention. 

Some  land  travelers  had  reached  the  northwest  and  returned  with  accounts  of  the  riches  and 
advantages  of  the  country.  Of  these  the  most  noteworthy  were  Alvar  Nunez  Cabe9a  de  Vaca 
and  the  monk  Jlarcos  de  Niza. 

De  Vaca,  an  officer  in  the  unfortunate  expedition  which  sailed  from  Xagua  on  the  20th  of  Feb 
ruary,  1528,  under  Narvaez,  had,  in  the  course  of  nearly  ten  years,  traversed  the  Gulf  coast  between 
Florida,  from  whence  he  set  out,  and  some  point  west  of  the  Delta  of  the  Mississippi,  and  after 
roaming  over  mountains  and  plains  had  reached  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  in  the  year  1537. 

Attracted  by  the  relation  of  what  De  Vaca  had  seen  in  his  wanderings  and  encouraged  by 
Mendoza,  the  Franciscan  monk,  Marcos  de  Niza,  in  company  with  one  of  the  companions  of  De 
Vaca,  started  on  foot  in  March,  1538,  for  further  explorations.  But,  even  with  the  aid  of  his 
.journal,  the  route  traveled  cannot  be  certainly  made  out,  nor  the  localities  identified  that  are  in 
his  report  made  the  subject  of  romance  and  exaggeration.  He  asserted  that  he  had  been  north  of 
Mexico  and  that  he  had  crossed  a  rich  country  and  an  empire  called  "  Cibola,"  the  metropolis  of 
which  was  as  large  and  brilliant  as  the  city  of  Mexico.  Before  an  altar  erected  in  a  lonely  forest  he 
secretly  with  some  ceremony  "  took  possession  "  of  this  empire  and  called  it  the  "New  Kingdom  of 
S;u  i  Francisco." 

Niza  moreover  declared  that  he  had  discovered  in  the  heart  of  the  new  world  the  fabulous 
"  seven  cities,"  so  often  sought  in  vain  by  the  ancients  amongst  the  islands  of  the  Atlantic.  Noth 
ing  was  too  improbable  for  the  excited  imaginations  of  his  countrymen.  They  at  once  laid  down 


552  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

on  maps,  side  by  side,  the  famous  kingdom  of  Cibola  and  tbe  fabulous  seven  cities.  Palaces 
roofed  with  silver  and  temples  glittering  with  gold  were  items  which  adorned  the  descriptions  in 
common  discourse.  After  the  return  of  the  monk  to  Mexico,  Yenegas  says  (Noticia,  pp.  103, 164) 
"  Everybody  in  this  city  spoke  of  nothing'  but  Cibola  and  the  seven  cities,  and  pretended  that  all 
the  best  things  and  the  greatest  riches  of  the  world  were  to  be  found  there." 

The  Governor  of  Guatimala,  Don  Pedro  Alvarado,  as  well  as  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  now  began 
to  prepare  new  expeditions  for  this  field  of  research.  Captain  Burney  in  his  History  of  Discovery 
in  tne  South  Sea;  London,  1803,  vol.  1,  page  193,  says  that  the  retuin  of  the  monk  .Niza  and  his 
exciting  narration  stirred  up  Cortes  and  gave  rise  also  to  the  expedition  of  Ulloa,  which  he  there 
fore  relates  after  Niza's  report.  This  is  doubtless  a  mistake.  Niza  left  Culiacau  in  March,  1539 
(the  date  given  by  Burney  on  page  189),  and  after  wandering  a  year  at  the  north  he  could  not  have 
returned  to  Mexico  before  the  beginning  of  1540.  Ulloa  sailed  early  in  July,  1539,  and  so  Captain 
Burney  states  on  page  194.  His  voyage,  therefore,  should  have  been  recounted  before  that  of  Niza, 
and  cannot  be  reasonably  considered  as  a  consequence  of  that  expedition.  The  same  error  has 
been  repeated  by  subsequent  writers. 

Alvarado  collected  a  fleet,  and  made  an  agreement  with  Mendoza  to  combine  their  forces  for 
discovery  and  conquest  in  the  northwest.  The  armament  was  to  be  under  the  command  of 
Alvarado,  but  the  sudden  death  of  that  officer  in  1541  stopped  the  undertaking,  and  the  tleet  was 
dispersed. 

Mendoza  had  meanwhile  completed  the  array  of  a  military  force  designed  to  follow  the  track 
of  the  monk  Niza  and  conquer  the  kingdom  of  Cibola,  and  to  "explore  the  secrets"  of  the  Gulf 
of  California.  This  expedition  consisted  of  two  divisions,  one  to  proceed  by  land  the  other  by 
sea.  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Corouado,  Governor  of  the  northwestern  province  of  New  Galicia, 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  former,  with  orders  to  inarch  through  Sinaloa  and  Souora,  while 
Hernando  de  Alarcon,  in  command  of  the  marine  force,  should  sail  along  the  shores.  Both 
companies  set  out  at  the  same  time  in  the  spring  of  1540,  and  their  departure  was  coincident  with 
the  return  of  Ulloa's  men  from  the  west. 

Alarcon,  who  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  the  9th  of  May  with  the  ships  San  Pedro  and  Santa 
Cataliua,  completed  and  extended  the  discoveries  made  by  Ulloa  at  the  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Cali 
fornia.  "Because  [he  writes  to  Mendoza]  your  highness  has  commanded  me  to  bring  you,  at  all 
events,  the  mystery  of  this  gulf,  I  determined  not  to  leave  until  I  had  thoroughly  explored  the 
innermost  recesses  of  its  waters."  He  therefore  entered  the  river  which  Ulloa  had  only  seen  afar 
off,  and  sailed  up  its  stream  in  boats  for  fifteen  days,  always  hoping  to  find  the  rich  "  kingdom  of 
Cibola"  and  to  meet  Coronado,  with  whom  he  was  to  co-operate. 

Disappointed  in  both  of  his  objects,  Alapcon  returned  to  his  ships,  which  lay  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sacramento,  after  having  traversed  85  leagues  of  the  course  of  the  river  with  great  difficulty. 
Near  the  entrance  he  erected  a  chapel  in  honor  of  the  "  Seiiora  de  la  buena  Guia"  (our  lady  of  the 
Good  Guide),  and  called  the  country  "  La  Campana  de  la  Cruz." 

Alarcou  discovered  also  the  mouth  of  the  river  Gila,  a  great  branch  of  the  Colorado,  and 
named  it  Brazo  de  Miraflores.  He  remarks  that  the  "  men  of  the  marques,"  alluding  to  Fran 
cisco  de  Ulloa,  were  mistaken  in  fixing  the  latitude  of  the  head  of  the  California!)  gulf,  placing 
it  2  degrees  too  far  north,  and  that  he  had  himself  been  4  degrees  further  in  that  direction  than 
any  who  preceded  him.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1540  Alarcon  returned  to  Mexico. 

Coronado  was  meanwhile  engaged  in  his  land  journey.  Until  the  year  1838  nothing  had  been 
published  concerning  his  expedition,  excepting  the  short  report  in  If.amusio's  Vol.  Ill,  and  occa 
sional  allusions  to  it  in  Herrera  and  Gomara.  At  that  time,  however,  M.  Ternaux  Compans  gave 
to  the  public  a  full  account,  written  by  Pedro  de  Castaneda  de  Nagera,  one  of  the  companions  of 
Coronado. 

In  April,  1540,  Coronado  set  out  from  Culiacan,  then  the  most  northern  Spanish  town  in  Mex  - 
ico,  and  the  depot  of  land  expeditions,  as  Acapulco  was  for  those  by  sea.  His  army  consisted  of 
above  six  hundred  Spaniards  and  many  Indians,  besides  a  number  of  enterprising  young  noblemen, 
the  flower  of  Spanish  chivalry  in  Mexico.  The  array  is  mentioned  by  old  writers  as  one  of  the  most 
complete  and  brilliant  of  the  time. 

\\itb   this  imposing  retinue  Coionado  took  his  couise  thion^h  the  country  rust  of  the  Call- 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  553 

foruiau  gnlf.  At  a  considerable  river,  which  they  called  Rio  Tizon,  they  turned  towards  its  head 
"  and  traversed  promising  countries  and  some  deserts."  The  route  of  the  army  can  be  approxi 
mately  traced.  It  is  evident  that  the  course  was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Gila  and  across  the  valley 
of  the  Eio  Bravo  towards  the  plains  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  buffalo  hunts,  the  geo 
graphical  features  of  the  plains  of  the  Upper  Arkansas  and  Red  Rivers,  their  extent  and  barren 
nature,  even  the  long  deep  crevices  into  which  the  buifaloes  as  well  as  the  horses  of  Coronado 
sometimes  fell  headlong,  are  so  minutely  described  by  Castaneda,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  in 
regard  to  the  region  crossed  by  this  party. 

Castaueda  observes  that  the  rivers  which  they  saw  probably  emptied  into  the  great  river 
Espii  itu  Santo,  discovered  by  De  Soto  ;  that  is,  into  the  Mississippi.  Early  in  April,  1543,  the  army 
retraced  its  course,  and  reached  Mexico  at  the  end  of  the  summer. 

"  Our  enterprise"  says  Castaneda,  "  took  a  wrong  course.  We  looked  for  Quivira  on  the 
desert  plains  of  the  northeast,  but  the  rich  Quivira  or  Great  India  lies  toward  the  northwest. 
This  is  now  quite  clear  from  the  sea  expedition  of  Villalobos,  who  examined  the  coast  of  the 
Pacific  and  found  Great  India  in  that  direction." 

Some  early  writers  mention  Quivira  as  bounded  by  the  Pacific,  and  assert  that  Corouado's 
company  saw  strange  ships  having  on  their  prows  images  of  birds  wrought  in  gold  and  silver,  and 
laden  wifli  merchandise  supposed  to  have  been  brought  from  China.  Castaneda  says  that  the  ves 
sels  so  ornamented  were  only  canoes,  and  that  he  was  so  informed  by  the  Indians  who  assured  him 
that  they  were  common  on  a  certain  river  in  the  interior.  Gornara  erroneously  judged  that  the. 
water  mentioned  might  be  the  western  ocean,  and  from  that  time  "  Quivira"  was  marked  on  nearly 
all  contemporaneous  maps  in  the  position  occupied  by  San  Francisco  Bay.  On  some  maps  it  is 
marked  as  being  north  of  that  bay. 

Cabrillo,  sailing  along  the  coast  in  the  autum,  of  1542,  was  repeatedly  told  by  the  savages  that 
other  Spaniards  were  traveling  in  the  interior,  and  with  these  he  tried  to  put  himself  in  commu 
nication.  He  heard  of  them  for  the  last  time  at  Juan  de  Capistrauo.  It  was  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  party  were  Coronado  and  his  followers.  Castaneda  says  that  the  Knight 
Melchoir  Diaz,  with  a  number  of  men,  penetrated  beyond  the  Colorado  River.  According  to  that 
writer,  Diaz  was  left  by  Coronado  in  cnarge  of  a  fortified  station  on  the  rout*,  but  full  of  the  spirit 
of  adventure  he  delegated  the  command  of  the  quiet  station,  and  set  off  at  the  head  of  twenty -five 
chosen  men  for  exploration  towards  the  coast.  After  reaching  the  Rio  Tizon  he  traveled  along  the 
southern  bank.  Indians  told  him  of  the  ships  of  Alarcon,  and  showed  him  the  place  of  embarkation, 
where  Diaz  found  a  tree  with  the  inscription  :  "Alarcon  came  as  far  as  this  place;  there  are  letters 
underneath."  From  the  letters  Diaz  learned  that  the  sea  of  Cortes  was  an  inclosed  gulf,  and  that 
Alarcon,  after  some  time  waiting  the  arrival  of  Coronado,  had  returned  to  Mexico. 

The  Knight  Melchoir  Diaz  crossed  the  Colorado  on  rafts  constructed  with  the  help  of  Indians, 
and  struck  into  the  interior  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Colorado  Desert.  How  far  the  party 
advanced  before  reaching  that  desolate  region  is  not  known.  They  describe  it  as  being  "  covered 
with  hot  ashes  that  seemed  here  and  there  to  boil  in  fierce  agitation."  The  ground  trembled 
under  their  feet,  and  the  aspect  of  the  place  was  forbidding.  They  found  no  water  and  turned  for 
the  starting  point.  On  the  route  Diaz  was  killed  by  an  unfortunate  accident. 

Expeditious  to  the  sea  of  Cortes  were  no  longer  thought  of.  Ulloa  as  well  as  Alarcou  had 
reported  it  landlocked  ;  no  doubt  remained,  and  it  is  represented  as  a  gulf  on  all  the  charts  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

The  next  party  sent  out  by  Mendoza  proceeded  therefore  to  the  outside  of  the  peninsula. 

Two  vessels,  the  San  Salvador  and  La  Victoria,  under  command  of  the  Portuguese  pilot  Juan 
Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  left  the  port  of  Navidad,  Mexico,  on  the  27th  of  June,  1542,  and  sailed  along  the 
coast  as  far  as  it  had  been  previously  explored  by  Ulloa;  that  is,  to  the  Isle  of  Cedros  and  Cabo 
Eugano  where  they  arrived  on  the  20th  of  August.  From  thence,  advancing  more  successfully  than 
their  predecessors,  against  adverse  winds  and  currents,  Cabrillo  reached  higher  latitudes.  At  34° 
north  he  saw  not  far  from  the  coast  an  inconsiderable  group  of  desert  islands  (unas  islas  desiertas), 
and  near  them  a  harbor,  which  he  called  Puerto  de  San  Miguel.  The  islands  are  now  known  as 
"  The  Corouados,"  and  the  port  was  doubtless  San  Diego.  The  latitudes  assigned  by  the  Spaniard 
H.  Ex.  43 70 


554  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

for  these  places  are  not  correct,  but  in  every  instance  (excepting  at  Cape  San  Lucas)  the  latitudes 
of  Cabrillo  are  in  error  about  a  degree  and  a  half. 

On  the  7th  of  October  Cabrillo  saw  two  islands,  which  he  named  after  his  vessels  San  Salvador 
and  La  Victoria.    They  are  now  called   San  Clemente  and  Santa  Catalina.     Beyond  these  he 
entered  a  bay  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Baia  de  Ftimos,  perhaps  the  same  that  is  now  known 
as  Sajg  Pedro  Bay,  and  passing  several  other  islands  on  the  way,  he  sailed  through  what  is  at 
present  designated  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel;  Point  Conception  was  named  by  him  Cabo  de 
Galera,  and  was  placed  more  than  a  degree  and  a  half  too  far  northward.    Stormy  weather 
delayed  progress,  and  at  length  drove  him  some  distance  southward,  where  be  discovered  an  island 
|/   which  he  named  San  Lucas.    The  island  is  now  called  San  Bernardo.    A  harbor  eastward  of  the 
vl    cape  gave  his  party  shelter,  and  received  the  appellation  of  Todos  Santos  (San  Luis  Obispo),  and 
[   another,  that  of  Puerto  de  la&Sardinas.  which  is  perhaps  tEe  place  now  known  as  San  Simeon. 
>    Cabrillo  finally  doubled  tuecape  and  along  the  coast  made  careful  search,  says  Herrera,  "  forThe 
^  Eio  de  Nuestra  Senora,  which,  however,  they  could  not  find." 

At  374°  north  latitude,  according  to  Cabrillo,  a  range  of  lofty  mountains  was  in  view,  probably 
the  Califoruian  coast  range,  named  by  him  Sierra  de  Saint  Martin.  On  the  17th  of  November  the 
voyagers  entered  a  bay,  supposed  to  be  the  Bay  of  Monterey.  They  called  it  Bahia  de  los  Piuos. 
In  latitude  38°  40'  of  their  reckoning  (about  37°  north  in  reality)  they  saw  a  projecting  si  ii f  of  land, 
to  which  they  gave  the  name  Cabo  de  la  Nieve — the  snow  cape.  That  cape  is  supposed  to  be 
Pun  ta  ano_NueYO. 

In  a  storm  which  separated  the  two  ships  for  .several  days  Cabrillo  was  carried  considerably 
northward,  and  saw,  at  a  distance,  another  cape  (probably  Point  Arena),  and  that  was  the  highest 
latitude  attained  by  the  party.  Sickness,  conjoined  with  cold  and  stormy  weather,  induced  him  to 
return  as  far  south  as  the  island  of  San  Lucas  (San  Bernardo),  where  he  had  found  a  tolerably  good 
harbor.  This  he  reached  on  the  23d  of  November,  1542,  but  Cabrillo  soon  after  fell  sick.  He  died 
on  the  3d  of  January,  1543,  leaving  the  command  of  the  expedition  to  his  first  pilot  Bartolome 
Ferrelo,  or  Ferrer. 

Ferrelo  and  his  companions  soon  felt  the  want  of  provisions,  and  on  the  19th  of  January  they 
left  the  harbor  to  search  for  provisions  and  wood.  In  stormy  weather,  which  was  continuous,  they 
touched  at  several  points  on  the  main,  and  at  the  Santa  Barbara  Islands,  but  finally  retired  to 
their  winter  quarters.  In  a  second  attempt  at  sea  they  were  carried  far  to  the  southwest,  where 
they  discovered  "  some  other  desert  islands,  great  and  small."  These  were  doubtless  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Still  harassed  by  tempests  the  vessels  were  turned  north,  intending  to  make  for  the  Bay 
of  Monterey,  but  were  carried  beyond  it — Herrera  says  to  the  44th  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
where  they  saw  the  mouth  of  a  large  river.  This  was  the  highest  latitude  reached  by  Ferrelo. 
Storms  were  frequent,  and  the  cold  was  excessive.  He  was  thus  forced  to  turn  to  the  southward. 
Some  of  his  company  died  ;  others  were  ill,  and  the  able-bodied  were  on  the  point  of  starvation, 
"  only  a  scanty  supply  of  spoilt  biscuit "  remained.  Thus  crippled,  he  returned  to  Mexico  with  the 
remnant  of  his  party. 

There  has  been  some  difference  of  opinion  with  regard  to  the  latitude  reached  by  this  expedi 
tion.  If  the  44°  north,  quoted  by  Herrera  (probably  from  the  journals  of  Cabrillo  and  Ferrelo),  was 
actually  observed  by  them,  and  if  it  is  true,  as  asserted  by  Navarrete,  that  they  were  always  in 
error  by  one  degree  and  a  half,  it  is  fair  to  conclude  that  42^°  north  latitude  was  the  limit  in  lati 
tude. 

Ferrelo,  on  his  homeward.passage,  probably  saw  Cape  Mendocino.  That  name  does  not  appear 
in  his  report,  but  the  position  corresponds  with  that  of  a  headland  which  he  named  "  Cabo  de 
Fortuuas." 

Nothing  in  the  history  of  these  voyages  as  drawn  from  the  reports  of  Cabrillo  and  Ferrelo 
indicates  that  either  of  those  navigators  entered  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  though  they  seem  to 
have  passed  near  its  entrance  several  times.  They  certainly  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  the 
great  harbor  to  which  the  opening  at  the  Golden  Gate  conducted. 

Ferrelo  reached  Mexico  with  both  of  his  ships  after  a  passage  of  six  weeks  along  the  coast  of 
California.  On  the  first  of  March  he  was  on  the  northern  limit  of  his  voyage,  and  on  the  14th  of 
April  he  entered  the  port  of  Navidad. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  555 

With  the  exception  of  Alarcon,  all  the  chiefs  of  naval  expeditions  sent  to  California  by  Cortes 
and  Mendoza  had  died  or  were  lost,  at  sea  in  the  voyages.  Only  remnants  of  their  parties 
returned  with  appalling  accounts  of  storms  and  dangers  encountered  in  frozen  regions  and  on 
desert  coasts.  It  is  therefore  no  wonder  that  zeal  for  California  exploration  lessened,  and  that  a 
long  pause  ensued  unmarked  by  any  similar  attempt;  that  "the  north  is  cold,  rough,  and  poor" 
became  an  adage  amongst  Spaniards;  and  their  horror  of  that  region  was  deepened  by  the  return 
of  a  remnant  of  De  Soto's  expedition  in  the  same  year  with  that  of  Ferrelo,  1543.  The  sufferers 
who  survived  the  hardships  of  travel  came  back  from  the  interior  after  seeking  vainly  for  three 
years  the  fabulous  Quivira,  as  others  had  sought.au  ever-receding  Eldorado. 

Such  failures,  of  course,  checked  the  fervor  of  discovery.  Eiches  and  employment  nearer 
home  were  offered  by  the  silver  mines  of  Mexico,  which  disclosed  abundant  treasure,  and  at 
length  attention  was  drawn  to  the  advantage  of  settling  and  improving  territory  instead  of 
merely  plundering  it.  It  was  the  avaricious  spirit  of  the  age  that  sent  Cabrillo,  Coronado,  and 
De  Soto  so  far  to  the  north.  When  we  consider  that  the  Spaniards  had  in  their  earlier  enterprises 
reached  the  fortieth  parallel  of  latitude  on  the  eastern  coast,  it  may  be  said  that  in  abandoning 
expeditions  on  the  Pacific  coast  they  relinquished  North  America;  not  only  the  shores  but  also 
the  interior.  But,  considering  the  imperfect  state  of  the  art  of  navigation  in  the  period  here 
under  rPview,  it  is  remarkable  that  so  much  was  accomplished  in  the  way  of  geographical  devel 
opment.  Moreover,  iortune  at  the  same  period  beckoned  over  quiet  seas  with  favoring  breezes 
toward  the  coast  of  Asia.  Instead  of  heavy  gales  and  a  tempestuous  ocean,  the  trade-winds 
invited  navigators  to  the  east.  Cortes,  the  conqueror  of  Mexico,  had  sent  out  expeditious  to  the 
Old  World,  and  Mendoza  had  also  dispatched  one  under  Villalobos  in  the  year  3542,  and  when, 
soon  after  the  middle  of  the  century,  the  Philippine  Islands  were  acquired  by  Miguel  de  Legaspi, 
a  lucrative  commerce  was  established  between  Mexico  and  Asia,  the  respective  ports  being 
Acapulco  and  Manilla. 

Many  vessels  sent  westward  from  New  Spain  had  attempted  to  return  over  the  broad  Pacific, 
but  without  success.  Sailing  too  far  south  in  latitude  the  trade-winds  were  against  them,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  time  of  Legaspi's  expedition  that  the  prevalence  of  winds  north  of  the  tropics 
was  discovered.  The  first  vessel  that  took  advantage  of  these  winds  for  returning  from  Asia  to 
New  Spain  appears  to  have  been  the  San  Lucas,  one  of  Legaspi's  fleet,  that  deserted  him  in  conse 
quence  of  the  disaffection  of  the  captain  and  pilots.  From  Mindanas  that  ship  kept  a  northerly 
course,  and  reached  the  American  coast  near  Cape  Mendocino,  and  from  thence  coasting  along 
California  arrived  at  New  Spain.  Of  the  same  fleet  another  vessel,  le  Capitano  San  Pedro,  took  that 
course  from  the  Philippine  Islands  under  command  of  Father  Andres  de  Urdaneta,  who  carefully 
kept  a  journal,  made  observations,  and  gave  the  results  on  a  chart  which  served  as  a  guide  in  sub 
sequent  voyages. 

Somewhat  above  the  40th  parallel  Urdaneta  had  met  the  northwest  winds,  and  sailed  with 
them,  as  the  San  Lucas  had  done  along  the  coast  of  California  to  the  shores  of  New  Spain,  where  he 
arrived  three  mouths  later.  Burney  says  that  the  chart  of  the  Northern  Pacific  by  Urdaneta  was 
in  use  among  Spaniards  in  1623. 

Soon  after  the  discovery  of  this  route  a  regular  and  profitable  intercourse  was  organized 
between  Mexico  and  Asia ;  'and  there  is  little  doubt  that  this  circumstance  turned  the  tide  of 
Spanish  navigation  again  into  its  usual  direction  from  east  to  west.  Hence  these  excursions  to 
the  north  may  be  considered  as  exceptional  deviations.  Amongst  other  causes  conjoining  to  this 
result  was  the  progress  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  northeast  part  of  Asia.  They  had  reached  China 
as  early  as  1530,  and  probably  visited  Japan  a  few  years  after. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  six-teenth  century  there  was  apparently  a  pause  in  the  march  of  enterprise 
at  the  north  and  at  the  south.  California  and  Chili  were  no  longer  arenas  of  research,  and  some 
discoveries  of  early  date  were  forgotten.  Some  even  questioned  the  existence  of  the  Strait  of 
Magellan.  The  Spaniards  at  that  time  were  in  quiet  possession  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  as  a  great 
highway  for  richly  laden  galeous  that  passed  from  the  New  World  to  the  Old,  gathering  the  wealth 
of  both,  and  they  feared  lest  their  advantage  might  be  lost.  When,  therefore,  Sir  Francis  Drako 
entered  the  Pacific  Ocean  the  Spaniards  were  aroused  as  by  a  thunderstroke. 


556  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

The  interval  between  Cabrillo's  expedition  and  the  renewed  spirit  of  adventure  was,  as  usual  in 
such  cases,  filled  with  fabulous  tales  of  impossible  voyages.  Some  instances  will  be  mentioned : 

A  Portuguese  sailor,  named  Martin  Chacke  or  Chaque,  was  said  to  have  sailed  in  1555  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  the  north  of  California,  and  to  have  reached  the  western  waters 
in  latitude  59  degrees  north. 

Andres  de  Urdaueta,  before  alluded  to,  a  mariner  well  known  in  Spain,  w.as  reported  to  have 
gone  from  the  South  Sea  to  the  Atlantic  in  155(5,-'57,  circumnavigating  the  countries  called  Cal 
ifornia  and  Florida;  and  another  Spaniard,  Juan  Fernandez  de  Ladrillero,  in  1574,  pretended  that 
he  had  certain  knowledge  of  the  ^existence  of  a. passage  north  of  California  and  Florida ;  that  he 
ha"d  been  at  the  entrance  of  the  strait,  and  could  have  easily  gone  through  it  if  the  condition  of 
his  ship  had  not  forced  him  to  return  home.  These  reports  are  not  worthy  of  critical  inquiry  as  to 
their  origin  and  history,  having  but  slight  relation  to  the  coasts  with  which  we  are  now  concerned. 
Navarrete  gives,  for  the  curious,  ample  details  in  regard  to  the  spurious  reports. 

'  SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE,  1579. 

English  and  French  seamen  and  privateers  had  for  more  than  half  a  century  contented  them 
selves  with  plundering  Spanish  colonies  on  the  eastern  side  of  America,  but  at  length  a  bold 
adventurer  extended  his  system  of  war  and  pillage  into  the  Pacific.  . 

Drake  fitted  out,  partly  at  his  own  cost  and  partly  by  the  aid  of  private  gentlemen  and  com 
panies,  a  fleet  of  five  small  vessels.  At  the  outset  his  flag-ship  was  named  The  Pelican,  and  the 
commander  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  commissioned  by  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  expedition  left 
England  in  December,  1577,  sailed  on  the  track  of  Magellan,  and  passed  through  the  strait  named 
after  that  navigator.  There  Drake  changed  the  name  of  his  principal  ship,  calling  it  The  Golden 
Hind,  and  towards  the  end  of  1578,  with  only  two  other  vessels  in  company,  he  entered  the  South 
Pacific  Ocean.  Soon  after  the  two  vessels  separated  from  the  flag-ship,  and  Drake  continued 
the  voyage  alone  in  The  Golden  Hind. 

In  the  spring  of  1579  he  sailed  along  the  western  coast  of  South  and  Central  America,  capturing 
and  burning  Spanish  ships,  and  plundering  some  of  the  Spanish  settlements.  Laden  with  spoil, 
his  vessel  at  length  reached  the  harbor  of  Guatulco,  but  again  put  to  sea  on  the  ICth  of  April, 
steering  boldly  into  the  Pacific  on  a  course  west  and  northwest  for  1,400  leagues  without  seeing 
any  land.  His  probable  intention  was  to  circumnavigate  the  continent  of  North  America  and 
return  eastward  to  Europe.  Such  design  is  not  stated  in  the  account  of  Drake's  voyage,  but  the 
opinion  then  generally  held,  that  America  could  be  circumnavigated  through  an  open  sea  or  strait 
at  the  north,  as  it  had  been  at  the  south,  strengthens  the  probability  of  the  supposition.  Geogra 
phers  of  that  period  gave  to  the  supposed  channel  at  the  north  the  name  "  Strait  Anian,"  and 
under  that  name  it  is  depicted  on  all  the  maps  of  the  next  two  centuries,  with  outlines  as  distinct 
as  if  they  had  been  actually  surveyed.  Frobisher  had  shortly  before  discovered  the  strait  which 
bears  his  name,  and  thus  in  England  the  hope  of  finding  a  northern  passage  had  become  very 
strong.  Without  doubt  the  expectation  of  Drake  was  to  reach  Frobisher's  strait  from  the  west, 
and  so  avoid  a  long  and  dangerous  voyage  in  coming  home  by  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  Apparently 
with  this  intention  he  held  on  west  and  northwest,  turning  gradually  eastward.  The  season  and 
other  circumstances  of  his  passage  seem  to  have  been  favorable  until  he  reached  the  forty-second 
parallel  of  north  latitude.  There  he  encountered  strong  northwesterly  winds  and  extremely  cold 
weather,  but  turned  his  ship  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  and  holding  that  course  discovered 
the  coast  of  North  America  in  latitude  48  degrees  north.  At  this  point  The  Golden  Hind  anchored 
for  some  time  in  an  open,  illy-sheltered  bay.  It  is  a  disputed  point,  whether  or  not  Drake  reached 
the  forty-eighth  parallel  as  stated  in  The  World  Encompassed,  or  only  43  degrees,  as  given  in 
Hakluyt's  report  of  The  Famous  Voyage.  The  best  English  and  other  foreign  authorities  admit 
48  degrees  north  latitude  as  Drake's  northern  limit. 

The  weather  continued  unfavorable ;  thick  fogs  prevailed,  followed  by  a  northeast  storm  in 
which  the  crew  suffered  much  hardship  and  were  greatly  discouraged.  Finally  the  extreme  cold 
and  recurring  storms  from  the  northwest  obliged  the  commander  to  desist  from  his  search  for  the 
supposed  passage  eastward,  and  the  unbroken  character  of  the  coast  which  he  had  traversed 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  STJKVEY.  557 

probably  hastened  bis  determination.  He  concluded  that  the  coast,  instead  of  turning  eastward, 
"  ran  directly  into  Asia,"  and  hence  he  resolved  to  sail  for  England  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  With  that  intention  he  went  southward  to  lind  a  harbor  on  the  coast  of  California  in  which 
his  men  might  recruit  their  strength  and  repair  the  damaged  vessel  for  such  a  voyage.  In.latitude 
about  38  degrees  north  lie  found  the  desired  haven,  and  piously  attributed  its. discovery  to  Divine 
Providence,  which  he  declares  had  also  favored  him  with  a  good  wind  for  entering  in  safety.  Here 
Drake  passed  nearly  five  weeks  in  repairing  The  Golden  Hind,  recreating  his  men,  and  exploring 
the  surrounding  country.  The  harbor  which  afforded  the  needful  shelter  was  very  probably  that 
small  bay  that  since  Vancouver's  time  has  been  called  Sir  Francis  Drake's  Bay.  The  adjacent 
country  was  found  "  very  pleasant,  full  of  goodly  plants,  trees,  and  deer,  of  which  (he  says)  some 
times  thousands  range  in  one  herd." 

It  is  remarkable  that  even  the  -golden  treasures  of  that  region  did  not  escape  observation.  In 
his  report  Drake  says  :  "  There  is  no  part  of  earth  here  to  be  taken  up  wherein  there  is  not  some 
special  likelihood  of  gold  or  silver;"  but  that  sentence,  though  often  reprinted  and  read  by 
thousands,  seems  to  have  been  overlooked  or  disregarded.  Drake's  intercourse  with  the  natives 
was  peaceful  and  cordial  to  such  a  degree  that  "  they  made  him  their  king,  and  crowned  him  as 
such."  He  is  generally  regarded  as  the  first  European  visitor  on  the  territory  of  California  and 
Oregon,  though  he  was  preceded  in  discovery  at  least  as  far  as  the  forty-third  parallel  by  Cabrillo 
and  Ferrelo.  He  named  the  country  "  New  Albion,"  because  the  cliffs  on  the  coast  appeared  to 
him  like  those  of  Southern  England.  That  name  was  retained  on  all  European  maps  except  those 
compiled  in  Spain  for  nearly  two  centuries. 

On  the  23d  of  July  Drake  left  the  harbor,  and  the  day  following  fell  in  with  several  small 
islands,  on  which  his  men  passed  some  hours  in  catching  seals  and  birds.  This  group  he  named 
"  The  Islands  of  Saint  James,"  subsequently  the  Spaniards  called  them  "  Los  Faralloues."  Drake 
then  sailed  westward  in  pursuance  of  his  design  of  returning  to  Europe  by  way  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  on  the  2Cth  of  September,  1580,  arrived  in  England,  where  he  was  hailed  as  the 
first  circumnavigator  of  the  globe.  No  immediate  successor  followed  in  this  career. 

(apt.  Thomas  Cavendish  in  1587  made  a  voyage  to  the  Pacific,  but  reached  only  the  southern 
part  of  California,  and  recorded  nothing  new  in  the  way  of  discovery.  With  this  exception  an 
interval  of  two  hundred  years  passed  (1579-1778),  during  which  no  English  navigator  appeared  on 
the  northwestern  coast  of  America. 

The  next  in  enterprise  and  discovery  was  Capt.  James  Cook,  and  until  his  time  the  name  of 
Drake,  his  harbor,  his  New  Albion,  and  discoveries  on  the  northwestern  coast  of  America  were 
freely  mentioned  by  writers  on  geography. 

. 

FRANCISCO  GAL1  AND  JATME  JTJAN,  1584. 

Activity  was  awakened  by  the  inroad  of  the  English  into  the  Pacific,  and  the  Strait  of 
Magellan  became  a  prime  object  of  attention  to  the  Spaniards.  The  governors  of  Chili  and  Peru, 
wishing  to  shut  that  pass  against  the  English,  organized  expeditions  for  the  purpose,  and  tried 
to  construct  forts  there.  Similar  measures  at  the  northwest  did  not  seem  urgent,  as  no  intruders', 
to  their  knowledge,  had  found  entrance  or  exit  in  that  direction.  This  fancied  security  lasted  until 
it  became  known  to  the  Spaniards  in  Mexico  that  Drake  had  visited  and  given  the  name  of  "New 
Afbion  "  to  a  region  far  in  the  north.  They  heard,  moreover,  that  the  English  were  seeking  from 
thence  the  "  Strait  of  Anian,"  the  discovery  of  which  had  been  several  times  proclaimed.  Fears 
of  what  might  result  finally  induced  the  Spaniards  to  renew  their  northwestern  explorations.  As 
before  mentioned,  these  had  ceased  with  the  voyages  of  Cabrillo  and  Ferrelo. 

In  the  year  1584  Don  Pedro  Moya  de  Coutreras,  then  Archbishop  and  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  fitted 
out  a  fleet  under  command  of  Capt.  Jayme  Juan,  with  orders  to  survey  the  northwestern  coast 
of  America.  A  special  object  in  this  intended  expedition  was  to  effect  some  settlement  on  the 
coast  of  California,  and  to  erect  fortifications  "  for  the  benefit  of  Spanish  ships  returning  from 
Asia." 

After  the  year  15C4  the  Acapulco  and  Manilla  galleons  regularly  sailed  to  the  Philippine 
Islands  by  a  southern  route,  taking  advantage  of  the  trade  winds.  Their  return  voyages  were 


558  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

made  in  a  higher  latitude,  with  variable  winds,  towards  the  shores  of  California,  where  northwest 
gales  and  predominant  currents  aided  in  the  passage  to  Mexico.  These  Manilla  galleons  were  the 
only  Spanish  ships  that  touched  along  the  northwestern  coast,  and,  so  to  speak,  they  had  in  that 
casual  way  kept  some  knowledge  respecting  it.  For  their  safety  in  returning  it  was  essential  that 
the  coast  should  be  better  known,  and  that  some  settlement,  and,  if  possible,  harbors  for  shelter 
should  be  established.  As  before  stated,  such  an  undertaking  had  been  determined  upon  in  1584. 

While  the  viceroy,  Contreras,  was  preparing  in  the  harbor  of  Acapulco  the  expedition  for 
that  purpose,  a  vessel  from  Asia  arrived  there  under  command  of  the  able  and  enterprising  pilot 
Francisco  Gali.  He  was  believed  to  have  seen  more  of  the  northern  parts  of  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
including  the  coast  of  Northeastern  Asia  as  well  as  that  of  North  western  America,  than  any  one 
of  his  predecessors.  Hence  his  voyage  enlisted  much  attention,  and  though  mainly  intended  for 
trade  it  ranked  amongst  enterprises  for  discovery. 

Information  in  regard  to  Gali's  voyage  is  contained  in  the  work  of  Juan  Hugues  de  Linschoten, 
"  Reise-geschrift  von  de  navigation  der  Portugaloisers  in  orienten,"  which  was  translated  into 
English  in  1598,  and  published  by  T.  Wolfe  in  London.  Linschoten  says  that  the  report  which 
he  gives  of  Gali's  voyage  was  translated  from  the  original  Spanish  into  Low  Dutch.  Hakluyt 
reprinted  in  his  third  volume,  in  1600,  the  English  translation  of  Wolfe. 

Gali  had  sailed  in  the  year  1582  from  Acapulco  to  Manilla,  and  from  thence  to  Macao.  Leaving 
the  latter  port  on  the  24th  of  July,  1584,  he  returned  by  way  of  Japan,  of  which  Empire  he  believed 
he  had  seen  the  northeastern  extremity,  and  then  stretched  his  course  over  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in 
a  direction  "  east  and  northeast "  towards  America.  The  point  where  he  reached  the  coast  has 
been  a  matter  of  doubt.  Navarrete  and  some  others  state  the  latitude  as  57i  degrees  north;  but 
the  English  historians  of  the  South  Sea,  Burney,  Travers,  Twiss,  and  others,  assign  the  lower  par 
allel  of  374  degrees.  This  last  appears  most  probable,  as  it  is  supported  by  the  Dutch  report  of 
Liuschoten,  by  the  translation  of  Hakluyt,  and  by  the  subsequent  editions  of  his  report.  The 
version  57£  degrees  north  occurs  first  in  a  French  translation  of  Linschoten,  entitled  "  Le  Grand 
Routier  de  mer.  Amsterdam,  1638,"  and  is  probably  a  misprint. 

Gali  states  that  he  saw  on  the  coast  a  beautiful  country  covered  with  forests  and  entirely 
without  snow.  Sailing,  as  he  did,  from  Macao,  at  the  end  of  July,  he  probably  reached  the  coast  of 
America  late  in  October,  and  at  that  time  of  the  year  he  would  no  doubt  have  found  Mount  Kdge- 
cumbe,  nearest  to  which  Navarrete  supposes  him  to  have  touched,  covered  with  snow. 

This  voyage  was  a  trading  expedition.  With  Gali,  discovery  was  incidental.  His  report  does 
not  refer  to  a  northwest  passage.  The  object  was,  with  ship  and  goods,  to  reach  New  Spain  without 
delay.  Nothing  but  irresistible  necessity,  due  to  storms,  could  have  driven  him  so  far  out  of  his 
course.  He  seems  to  have  followed  *he  usual  track  of  Manilla  vessels,  perhaps  a  little  farther  to 
the  northward. 

The  expedition  then  preparing  at  Acapulco,  being  destined  for  the  region  so  recently  visited 
by  Gali,  the  viceroy  consulted  that  navigator  in  regard  to  it,  and  the  report  of  his  voyage  seems  to 
have  been  drawn  in  response.  This  was  accompanied  by  a  map  giving  latitudes  and  longitudes. 

How  far  the  preparations  of  Contreras  had  then  advanced  is  not  exactly  known  ;  probably  not 
»far,  as  in  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Spain,  dated  March  24,  1585,  he  alludes  to  his  "  intentions,"  and 
solicits  the  royal  sanction  and  support.    However,  the  viceroy  was  superseded  in  his  government 
at  the  end  of  the  year. 

SEBASTIAN  RODRIGUEZ  CERMES'ON,  1595. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  the  English  adventurer  Cavendish,  had,  like  Drake,  made 
his  way  to  the  coast  of  California.  In  emulation  of  the  last-named  commander,  Cavendish  cap 
tured  the  Santo  Anna,  one  of  the  richest  of  the  Manilla  galleons.  This  was  in  November,  1587. 
The  loss,  when  made  known  in  Spain,  suggested  the  expediency  of  sending  out  their  vessels, 
intended  for  California,  from  the  Philippine  Islands,  rather  than  froin  Mexico,  because  the  prevail 
ing  winds  would  in  that  case  be  favorable. 

Don  Luis  Velasco,  Viceroy  of  New  Spain  from  1590  to  1595,  accordingly  issued  instructions  for 
testing  the  route.  It  is  probable  that  Gomez  Perez  de  la  Marinas,  to  whom  that  service  was 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUKVEY.  559 

intrusted,  used  one  of  the  regular  Manilla  galleous,  as  the  vessel  (The  S.  Augustin),  besides  being 
commissioned  to  make  discoveries,  was  laden  with  silks  and  other  oriental  goods  destined  for 
Mexico.  Navarrete  says  that  this  ship  was  specially  commissioned  to  examine  the  "  port  of  San 
Francisco  "  and  its  vicinity.  So  far  as  we  know,  this  is  the  first  mention  of  a  port  with  that  name. 
The  adventure  was  extremely  unfortunate.  Cermefion  reached  the  coast  of  California,  but  his 
vessel  was  wrecked  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  large  harbor,  called  by  Torquemada,  the  historian 
of  the  expedition,  Puerto  de  San  Francisco.  The  ship,  the  goods,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  crew 
were  lost.  Some  of  the  men  found  their  way  back  to  Mexico,  and  amongst  them  Francisco  de 
Volanos  (called  "Pilote  Mayor"),  who  gave  information  of  the  disaster,  and  afterwards  (in  1603) 
accompanied  Viscaino  to  the  place  where  it  occurred.  From  some  accounts  it  seems  that  the 
vessel  was  stranded  inside  of  the  bay  ;  but  the  Spanish  pilot,  Cabrera  Bueno,  in  his  sailing  direc 
tions  (Dalrymple,  p.  48),  seems  to  indicate  the  Faralloues,  but  adds,  that  "the  loss  was  due  more 
to  the  fault  of  those  on  board  than  to  stress  of  weather."  What  is.  known  of  this  interesting  expe 
dition  is  stated  by  Torquemada.  Argensola  does  not  mention  it  in  his  history  of  the  Philippine 
Islands.  The  San  Augustin  is  said  to  have  foundered  "in  the  port  of  San  Francisco."  The 
Spanish  pilot  says:  "Jn  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  on  the  islands  of  Farallones"! 

Some  have  thought  that  the  "  Puerto  de  San  Francisco"  of  Torquemada  was  our  Bay  of  San 
Francisco,  but  it  is  more  probable  that  he  applied  the  name,  as  the  pilot,  Bueno,  evidently  did,  to 
the  waters  south  of  Point  Keyes,  east  of  the  Farallones,  and  oft'  the  Golden  Gate.  Subsequent 
statements  seem  to  prove  that  neither  they  nor  Volauos  had  any  knowledge  of  the  landlocked  bay 
now  bearing  that  name. 

SEBASTIAN  VIZCAINO,  1596. 

The  wreck  of  the  San  Augustin  made  evident  the  necessity  for  a  settlement  on  the  coast  of 
California,  and  preparations  to  that  end  were  ordered  by  Philip  II,  to  carry  out  the  plans  of  the 
viceroy,  Contreras.  Soldiers,  sailors,  and  laborers  were  recruited,  and  three  vessels  were  fitted 
out  with  requisites  for  a  settlement.  Some  women  were  also  embarked.  The  expedition  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  very  enterprising  pilot,  Vizcaino.  The  principal  authorities  for  particulars 
respecting  this  expedition  are  Torquemada  "  Mouarquia  Indiana,"  and  Navarrete,  who  used  some 
manuscripts  ("  algunos  documeutos  manuscriptos  ")  which  he  does  not  further  describe. 

This  expedition  sailed  from  Acapulco  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1596  and  was  in  all  respects 
ineffectual.  Vizcaino  spent  his  time,  provisions,  and  means  in  an  abortive  attempt  to  found  a. 
settlement  on  the  rocky  coast  of  the  Californian  peninsula;  but  finding  his  ships  and  their  crews 
no  longer  in  a  condition  to  pursue  discoveries,  he  returned  at  the  end  of  the  year.  The  only  result 
was  merely  the  change  of  a  name.  The  bay  known  in  the  time  of  Cortes  as  Santa  Cruz  was 
subsequently  called  La  Paz. 

Some  delay  in  Californian  research  followed  the  death  of  Philip  II;  but  in  1599  his  successor, 
Philip  III,  sent  orders  to  the  count  of  Monterey,  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  to  make  arrangements  for  an 
expedition  to  the  northwest.  Monterey  decided  to  employ  Vizcaino,  who  was  then  supposed  to 
have  more  knowledge  of  the  coasts  of  New  Spain  than  any  other  commander.  (Jn  his  second 
voyage  he  set  out  from  Acapulco  on  the  5th  of  May,  1602.  The  principal  sources  of  information 
respecting  it  are  the  following : 

1.  The  original  journal  kept   by  the  Carmelite  monk,  Father  Antonio  de  la  Ascension,  who 
accompanied  the  expedition.    Venegas  says  in  his  Noticia,  volume  III,  page  23,  that  he  sought  in 
vain  in  the  archives  of  Seville  for  the  original  journal  of  Vizcaino's  voyage.    Navarrete  says  (page 
Ixviii)  that  he  found  there  a  copy  of  the  original,  which  original  had  been  left  for  preservation  in 
Mexico. 

2.  A  report  of  the  voyage  by  Torquemada  in  his  "  Monarquia  Indiana,"  lib.  5,  cap.  45.    This 
writer  had  acpess  to  the  journal  of  Father  Antonio,  or  had  a  copy,  from  which  he  made  extracts. 
But  as  the  report  itself  was  never  printed,  Torquemada  was  for  upwards  of  two  centuries  the  only 
authority  in  regard  to  the  particulars  of  the  voyage.    When  his  work  (printed  in  1615,  and  again 
in  1725)  became  rare,  Venegas  reprinted  it  (in  1757)  in  his  "Noticiade  la  California." 

3.  Navarrete,  who,  in  addition  to  the  original  report  of  Father  Antonio,  used  other  manuscript 
documents,  accessible  only  to  himself.     He  names  the  following : 


560  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

(a.)  The  agreements  and  opinions  of  the  councils  and  meetings  of  Vizcaino's  officers  held  in 
the  course  of  the  voyage. 

(ft.)  The  Eoutier  of  navigation  along  the  coast  of  California,  made  by  the  cosmographer, 
Geronirno  Martin  Palacios,  who  accompanied  the  expedition. 

(c.)  Thirty-two  charts  and  plans  of  the  coast,  showing  ports,  inlets,  &c.,  made  by  Enrico 
Martinez,  cosmographer  of  the  King,  in  New  Spain.  Navarrete  compiled  from  them  a  general 
chart.  He  used  other  documents,  but  does  not  specify  in  regard  to  them. 

With  greater  facilities  than  either  of  his  predecessors,  Vizcaino  surveyed  more  accurately  the 
coast  line  of  California  from  Cape  San  Lucas  northwestward  to  beyond  Cape  Mendocino,  beyond 
which  limit  he  was  not  authorized  to  go.  That  headland  was  the  point  for  which  the  Manilla 
vessels  on  their  home  voyages  usually  made ;  and  north  of  it  they  never  sailed. 

Vizcaino  had  with  him  experienced  officers,  amongst  whom  were  Volanos,  the  surviving  pilot 
of  the  San  Augustiu,  and  a  distinguished  cosmographer,  Gerouimo  Martin,  who  was  commissioned 
to  draw  the  maps  and  charts  of  the  expedition. 

The  fleet  commanded  by  Vizcaino  consisted  of  two  large  ships,  the  Capitana  San  Diego  and 
the  Fregata  Tres  Reyes,  which  last  was  accompanied  by  a  small  tender,  the  Santa  Tomas,  for 
navigation  in  shoal  water.  He  had  also  a  long  bark  (un  barco  luengo)  for  entering  inlets,  rivers, 
and  creeks,  but  that  craft  proving  to  be  an  iucumbrance  was  abandoned  near  Cape  San  Lucas. 

During  the  first  six  months  the  party  was  employed  in  carefully  examining  the  western  coast 
of  Lower  California.  They  discovered,  named,  and  surveyed  a  number  of  bays,  as  Magdalena, 
Santa  Marina,  Ballenas,  San  Bartholome,  Simon  and  Judas,  and  Todos  los  Santos.  Oft' the  southern 
extremity  of  the  coast,  where  they  arrived  early  in  November,  four  small  islands  were  discovered, 
to  which  they  gave  the  name  "  de  los  Coronados." 

On  the  10th  of  the  same  mouth  the  little  fleet  entered  a  harbor  north  of  the  Coronados,  which 
harbor,  sixty  years  earlier.  Cabrillo  had  named  San  Miguel ;  Vizcaino  gave  it  the  name  of  San 
Diego  de  Alcada,  probably  in  honor  of  the  holiday  which  falls  on  the  12th  of  November,  and  per 
haps,  also,  to  commemorate  the  name  of  his  flagship.  With  the  two  exceptions  (Point  Pinos  and 
Cape  Mendocino),  no  geographical  name  given  by  Cabrillo  has  been  retained.  Hence  it  may  be 
inferred  that  Vizcaino*  was  not  acquainted  with  Cabrillo's  reports  nor  guided  by  his  maps. 

After  pioviding  wood  and  water  Vizcaino  sailed  on  the  20th  of  November.  On  the  27th 
they  had  in  sight  a  large  island,  which  they  named  Santa  Catalina,  as  first  seen  on  St.  Catharine's 
day.  It  was  found  to  be  densely  populated.  After  mapping  the  island  the  voyagers  kept  on 
southward  and  reached  the  island  now  known  as  San  Clemente,  the  survey  of  which  was  deferred 
and  not  finally  accomplished.  Hence  it  received  no  name  at  the  time,  and  is  not  marked  on  the 
chart  of  Vizcaino. 

On  the  evening  pf  Santa  Barbara's  day  (3d  of  December)  the  party  was  at  the  eastern  end  of 
a  chain  of  islands  between  which  and  the  coast  of  California  lay  a  broad  channel.  Through  this 
they  sailed,  favored  by  a  southwest  wind,  which  opportunely  continued  until  they  reached  the  ex 
tremity  of  the  passage  near  Point  Conception.  There  the  weather  changed.  A  furious  northwest 
gale,  with  a  heavy  sea,  separated  the  ships  and  threw  them  back  towards  the  islands  The  storm 
of  two  days  subsided  as  the  calendar  marked  "  the  feast  of  Holy  Nicolas"  (December  6)  and  the 
name  of  the  saint,  perhaps,  in  allusion  to  this  event,  was  given  to  one  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Islands. 
Soon  afterwards  the  fleet  rounded  the  cape  which  Cabrillo  had  doubled  under  like  stress  of  weather 
sixty  years  earlier,  ;ind  which  he  at  the  time  gave  the  name  of  Cabo  de  Galera.  Vizcaino  named 
it  "Punta  de  la  limpia  Conception,"  and  it  is  still  known  as  Point  Conception. 

Sailing  along,  the  coast  towards  Monterey  the  mariners  came  in  sight  of  a  range  of  high 
mountains  which  Cabrillo  had  seen  at  the  same  season  of  the  year  (early  in  winter)  and  named 
"Sierra  de  S.  Martin."  It  was  named  by  Vizcaino,  "Sierra  de  Santa  Lucia,"  probably  because  it 
came  into  view  on  the  13th  of  December,  the  day  of  the  Holy  Lucia.  By  that  name  the  mountain 
range  is  yet  known  amongst  Spaniards.  The  captains  of  returning  Manilla  vessels  had  been  accus 
tomed  to  recognize  the  coast  of  California  by  this  landmark. 

A  small  river,  2  leagues  south  of  Point  Pinos,  also  received  the  name  which  it  still  bears  (Rio 


"The  configuration  of  San  Diego  harbor  is  well  repiesented  on  his  chart. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  501 

•lei  Carmelo) ;  and  on  the  IGtli  of  December  the  shrps  entered  tlie  Baliia  de  Pinos  of  Cabrillo, 
which,  however,  Vizcaino  named  in  honor  of  the  viceroy,  la  Bahia  de,  Monte  Key.  There  he 
remained  nearly  three  weeks,  and  from  thence  dispatched  the  Santo  Tomas  to  Mexico  with  the 
invalids  of  his  party,  and  a  report,  with  a  chart  for  the  Viceroy,  of  all  that  had  been  developed 
geographically  up  to  that  date. 

After  providing  wood  and  water  Vizcaino  sailed  again  to  the  northwest  on  the  3d  of  January, 
1G03.  For  several  days  the  wind  was  favorable.  They  passed  the  entrance  to  San  Francisco  Bay, 
hut  on  the  7th  a  heavy  northwester  separated  the  vessels,  and  they  did  not  meet  again  until  their 
arrival  in  Mexico.  The  Fregata  was  in  advance,  but  supposing  her  to  be  delayed,  Vizcaino  entered 
the  port  of  San  Francisco  in  shelter  of  a  cape,  which  he  named  Punta  de  los  Reyeff  So  says  / 

Torqiiemada — but  his  Puerto  de  San  Francisco  is  not  the  bay  which  now  bears  that  name. 
Vizcaino  wished  to  explore  the  place  and  search  for  vestiges  of  the  crew  and  landing  of  the  San 
Augnstin  which  had  been  wrecked  in  1595  ;  but,  anxious  in  regard  to  the  missing  Fregata.  after 
a  delay  of  two  days  he  went  to  seek  Iter  at  the  northwest,  the  direction  he  supposed  her  to  have 
taken. 

To  the  little  harbor  in  which  he  had  anchored  he  gave  the  name  which  he  had  applied  to  the 
sheltering  cape,  calling  it  the  Port  of  the  Kings,  probably  because  he  discovered  its  entrance  on 
"  the  day  of  the  Kings,"  and  perhaps  also  in  allusion  to  the  Fr/gata  Los  tres  Reyes,  which  was 
in  the  same  region.    The  name  is  not  in  Torquemada's  extract,  but  it  is  on  Vizcaino's  chart.    The 
former  mentions  only  a  "-Punta  de  los  Reyes"  in  this  vicinity. 

Beating  and  tacking  against  northwesterly  winds,  the  San  Diego  advanced  slowly.  On  the 
12th  of  January  a  high  projecting  cape  was  reached  in  latitude  41  J°  north,  thought  by  the  pilots 
to  be  Cabo  Mendocino,  where  they  encountered  a  strong  southeast  storm,  thick  fogs,  and  a 
boisterous  sea.  Six  only  of  the  crew  were  capable  of  duty ;  the  others  and  the  officers  and 
missionaries  were  sick  (en  las  eamas)  in  their  beds. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  was  decided  to  turn  back,  but  the  storm  lasted  for  some  days 
and  drove  them  still  further  north.  At  length,  on  the  21st  of  January,  a  northwest  wind  set  in 
and  cleared  the  atmosphere.  They  observed  for  latitude  at  42°  north  (in  their  reckoning),  where  a 
white  cape  was  in  view,  which  they  named  "  el  Cabo  Blanco  de  San  Sebastian,"  because  fair  weather 
appeared  on  the  eve  of  the  day  of  the  martyrs,  San  Fabian  and  San  Sebastian.  From  thence  they 
turned  back  to  the  southeast  with  a  favorable  wind.  The  cape  is  not  indicated  on  Vizcaino's  chart, 
nor  is  it  marked  to  show  ei.ther  latitude  or  longitude.  Later  Spanish  navigators  have  given  the 
name  Cabo  San  Sebastian  to  a  point  near  the  42d  parallel,  now  called  Point  George;  but  as  before 
stated,  if  Torqiiemada  puts  Cape  Mendocino  one  degree  too  far  north,  it  is  probable  that  other 
assigned  positions  are  as  much  in  error.  Its  true  place  therefore  would  be  near  Humboldt  Bay  or 
Trinidad  Bay.  . 

The  home  voyage  was  quickly  made,  and  to  allow  observation  the  ship  was  steered  as  near  to 
the  coast  as  possible.  But  very  little  could  be  done,  as  the  crew  was  sick  with  scurvy  and  some 
among  them  died.  The  intended  survey  of  the  other  Santa  Barbara  Islands  was  of  necessity 
renounced,  as  also  the  resolution  to  winter  at  Bahia  de  la  Paz  to  wait  for  supplies.  They  sailed, 
therefore,  directly  for  New  Spain,  and  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Acapulco  on  the  21st  of  March, 
1603,  where  they  again  met  the  crew  of  the  Fregata. 

The  gale  of  the  6th  of  January,  which  had  separated  the  two  vessels,  and  from  which  the 
San  Diego  had  sought  shelter  in  the  Puerto  de  San  Francisco,  had  carried  the  Tres  Reyes 
(commanded  by  Martin  de  Aguilar)  some  distance  further  north.  Off  Mendocino  he  encountered 
the  same  southeast  storm  which  had  forced  Vizcaino  into  port,  and  was  driven  by  it  to  latitude 
43°  north,  according  to  an  observation  made  on  the  19th  of  January  by  the  chief  pilot,  Antonio 
Flores.  Here  Aguilar  gave  the  name  of  Cabo  Blanco  to  a  white  cape,  where  (as  Torquemada 
says)  "the  coast  begins  to  turn  to  the  northwest."  Near  it  ran  a  deep  and  crooked  river,  which 
he  attempted  to  enter,  but  its  strong  outward  current  baffled  every  effort. 

After  doubling  Cape  Mendocino,  the  Fregata,  having  advanced  further  north  than  was 
warranted  by  instructions,  turned  back  southward;  and  the  crew  suffered  greatly  from  scurvy. 
Aguilar  and  Flores  died  before  the  vessel  which  carried  them  reached  San  Diego.    The  ship 
H.  Ex.  43 71 


562  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

was,  therefore,  taken  to  Acapulco  by  the  pilot,  Estavan  Lopez,  and  there  he  was  joined  by  the 
Capitaua. 

The  general  opinion  has  been  that  the  extreme  limit  reached  by  Aguilar  was  the  present  Cape 
Blanco  or  Orford,  which  is  usually  marked  on  Spanish  maps  "Cabo  Blanco  de  Aguilar,"  but  that 
supposition  rests  on  the  single  observation  for  latitude  made  by  the  pilot,  Florcs.  If  the  latitude 
stated  in  Torquemada  for  Cape  Mendocino  is  one  degree  too  high,  we  should  look  for  this  Cape 
Blanco  somewhere  about  Point  George;  but  there  is  near  it  no  considerable  stream,  nor  beyond  it 
does  the  coast  begin  to  turn  to  the  northwest,  but,  on  the  contrary,  trends  somewhat  eastward. 
Moreover,  it,  is  said  by  Vancouver  that  our  Cape  Blanco  or  Orford  does  not  look  white,  being 
covered  v.Hh  dense  forests  down  to  the  sea.  To  reconcile  the  discrepancies,  or  at  least  some  of 
tliem,  Captain  Burney  supposed  that  in  January,  when  Aguilar  was  on  the  coast,  every  part 
exposed  to  the  prevailing  wind  was  probably  whitened  with  snow.  Near  Point  George  the 
Klamath  River  empties,  and  beyond  that  entrance  the  coast  inclines  to  the  northwest.  It  is 
possible,  therefore,  that  the  position  here  referred  to  may  have  been  the  Cape  Blanco  of  Aguilar, 
but  the  question  cannot  be  decided.  The  river  was  not  deemed  of  much  consequence.  Crooked 
and  deep  it  is  styled  in  the  report,  and  doubtless  it  was  magnified  into  undue  importance,  it  may 
be,  because  that  point  was  for  a  century  and  a  half  the  northern  limit  of  Spanish  navigation. 
Every  inlet  or  river  mouth  in  that  region  was  expected  to  be  or  to  lead  into  the  Strait  of  Anian,  or 
into  the  western  end  of  some  passage  around  America.  Agnilar's  cape  and  river  are  noticed  in 
all  geographical  books,  and  are  marked  on  nearly  all  maps  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries. 

This  expedition  of  Vizcaino,  like  that  of  Cabrillo,  was  more  successful  than  other  Spanish 
voyages  to  the  northwest.  Both  saw  the  same  stretch  of  coast,  and  reached  about  the  same. 
latitude.  Vizcaino  observed  everything  closely,  and  his  work  deserves  to  be  called  a  detailed 
reconnaissance.  His  desire  was  to  push  exploration  northward;  find  the  Strait  of  Anian;  sail 
around  America,  and  return  by  that  route  to  Spain.  But  these  schemes  were  never  accomplished. 
Vizcaino  went  to  Spain,  and  after  much  exertion  obtained  from  Philip  111  an  order  for  the 
furtherance  of  his  projects,  but  before  needful  arrangements  could  be  completed  he  died,  and  with 
him  expired  the  spirit  of  enterprise.  It  was,  says  Navarrete,  "an  epoch  in  which  the  Spanish 
nation  retrograded.''  Spain  was  not  afterwards  governed  by  such  monarchs  as  Ferdinand,  Charles, 
and  Philip  II. 

NEW  MEXICO. 

During  the  seventeenth  century  the  court  of  Spain  was  beset  by  applicants,  native  and  foreign, 
offering  vague  projects  for  the  development  of  the  Straits  of  Anian;  and  many  unsuccessful 
expeditions  were  planned  for  settlements  on  the  peninsula  of  California.  Throughout  the  century 
nothing  was  done  to  advance  knowledge  respecting  the  geography  of  the  northwest.  That  region 
seemed  to  be  forgotten.  There  was,  however,  one  expedition  planned  near  the  close  of  the  previous 
century,  and  accomplished,  which  to  a  certain  degree  connected  with  the  geographical  history 
of  the  western  coast.  This  was  the  discovery,  conquest,  and  settlement  of  New  Mexico.  The 
enteprise,  like  many  others,  was  suggested  by  a  Franciscan  monk,  Friar  Aiigustin  Ruiz,  who  lived 
in  the  valley  of  San  Bartolomeo,  near  the  silver  mines  of  Santa  Barbara,  at  the  outskirts  of  the 
Spanish  settlements.  As  early  as  1581  he  had  journeyed  among  the  Indians  at  the  north,  and 
brought  back  intelligence  of  a  beautiful  and  populous  valley  through  which  flowed  a  river  several 
hundred  leagues  in  length. 

Antonio  de  Espejo,  a  wealthy  and  energetic  man,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  company  of 
soldiers,  and  with  some  Franciscan  monks  marched,  in  1582.  to  search  for  the  valley  and  river 
described  by  Ruiz.  As  he  afterwards  reported,  Espejo  reached  "nearly  to  the  source  of  the  river'' 
and  found  every  where  villages  and  towns,  with  the  inhabitants  of  which  he  held  friendly  inter 
course.  He  also  made  a  journey  to  the  eastward  through  the  buffalo  country,  and  another 
westward  as  far  as  Cibola  and  the  river  Gila,  where  Coronado  had  been  previously. 

In  1583.  Espejo  returned  to  Mexico  and  reported  his  discoveries.  Attempts  were  made  at 
intervals  for  the  conquest  of  the  interior,  and  at  length  Monterey,  the  Viceroy  who  had  directed 
the  voyages  of  Vizcaino,  struck  a  decisiA'e  blow.  He  dispatched  Juan  de  Oiiate,  an  officer  of  high 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  563 

repute,  with  an  army  of  about  one  hundred  Spaniards  and  five  hundred  Indians,  to  the  north, 
took  possession  of  the  country,  and  gave  to  it  the  name  of  New  Mexico.  Thus  Ofiate  became  the 
founder  and  first  governor  of  the  new  province,  and  in  it  was  established,  in  1611,  the  flourishing 
capital  of  Santa  Fe. 

In  these  contemporaneous  expeditions  of  Vizcaino  and  Ofiate  maybe  traced  a  correspondence 
with  the  .sea  and  land  enterprises  of  Alarcon  and  Coronado,  sent  out  by  Mendoza. 

Tin-  upper  valley  of  the  Kio  del  Norte  is  a  fertile  oasis  iu  the  midst  of  deserts.  Santa  F6  soon 
became  a  station  of  great  importance  as  the  depot  for  all  Spanish  expeditions  to  the  eastern, 
northern,  and  western  regions.  From  thence  discovery  was  pushed  to  Lake  Utah,  called  by  the 
Spaniards  "Timpanagos,"  and  westward  far  into  the  territory  watered  by  the  river  Gila.  After 
the  settlement  of  the  coast  of  California  a  road  was  laid  out,  terminating  at  Santa  Fe. 

The  first  explorers  of  the  valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  reached  that  river  near  the  great  bend 
called  El  Paso,  where  the  channel  takes  an  easterly  course  towards  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
Spaniards  had  explored  only  the  upper  valley.  They  knew  indeed  of  the  Rio  Bravo,  but  believed 
it  to  be  a  separate  river,  having  followed  it  only  to  El  Paso  where  the  stream  is  hidden  amongst 
rocks  and  mountains.  Ignorant  of  the  course,  the  termination  was  supposed  to  be  in  one  of  the 
rivers  of  Cinaloa,  or  some  water-course  emptying  into  the  Gulf  of  California.  The  discovery, 
therefore,  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  was  considered  by  many  as  pertaining  to  the  history  of  the 
north  western  side  of  America,  and  as  merely  an  addition  to  their  knowledge  of  the  Pacific  basin. 
Tliis  hypothesis,  or  rather,  geographical  error,  was  long  maintained,  but  was  corrected  on  European 
maps  by  Coronelli  about  the  year  Itiso. 

Of  the  fabulous  accounts  in  regard  to  discovery,  circulated  between  1609  and  1625,  only  two 
are  deserving  of  mention,  namely,  those  of  Ferrer  Maldonado  and  the  so-called  Juan  de  Fuca. 

The  false  reports  were  repeatedly  disproved,  but  they  influenced  the  history  of  geography. 
Maps  were  constructed  and  the  erroneous  details  were  admitted  in  historical  works.  Names 
attached  to  the  assumed  discoveries  were  given  to  previously  known  localities  as  well  as  to 
imaginary  straits,  rivers,  and  countries.  Expeditious  were  organized  and  instructions  were  issued 
for  exploring  the  regions  that  had  been  fictitiously  described.  In  1790,  the  officers  of  the  Spanish 
expedition  of  the  Descnbierta  and  Atrevida  were  directed  to  explore  the  coasts,  straits,  and 
harbors  supposed  to  have  been  discovered  by  Maldonado.*  The  influence  of  these  stories  dates 
from  the  time  of  their  promulgation,  and  not  from  the  period  at  which  the  incidents  were  supposed 
to  have  occurred.  Maldonado  pretended  that  he  sailed  in  the  year  1588,  but  the  "  results"  of  his 
voyage  \vcie  not  given  to  the  world  until  the  year  1609.  De  Fnca,  though  his  expedition  was  said 
to  have  been  made  in  1592,  brought  no  account  of  it  before  the  public  previous  to  the  year  1625. 
In  a  chronological  record  of  discoveries  these  impositions  must  be  referred  to  the  time  of  their 
publication. 

Lorenzo  Ferrer  Maldonado  was  well  known  in  Spain  as  a  schemer  and  adventurer,  and  his  story 
touches  but  lightly  the  geography  and  history  of  California.  He  pretended  to  have  sailed  from 
Lisbon  to  Labrador  in  l.'.SS;  and  from  Labrador  to  the  Pacific  through  a  narrow  strait  by  which  a 
passage  from  Spain  to  China  could  be  accomplished  in  three  months.  In  Ki09  he  presented  to  the 
Spanish  Government  a  report  on  discoveries  and  added  a  proposal  to  return  to  the  spot  and  em 
ploy  himself  in  erecting  fortifications  against  the  encroachment  of  foreigners.  But,  after  careful 
examination,  his  statements  were  decided  to  be  false,  and  his  proposition  was  of  course  rejected. 
He  was  treated  as  an  ignorant  impostor  and  charlatan.  Some  subsequent  historians,  nevertheless, 
ready  to  believe  any  wonderful  tale,  mention  these  pretended  travels  and  discoveries;  and  thus  the 
subject  was  kept  alive  through  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  Copies  of  Maldonado's 
original  papers  deposited  in  the  Spanish  archives  found  their  way,  we  know  not  how,  into  foreign 
countries,  and  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  (1790)  the  French  geographer,  Buache,  "  who 
clung  fondly  to  questionable  discoveries,"  drew  attention  to  them  by  declaring  his  confidence  in 
the  veracity  of  Maldonado's  statements.  The  last,  perhaps,  to  give  credence  to  the  narrative  of 
adventures  was  the  Italian  savant  Ainoretti  who  in  1812  edited  an  old  manuscript  found  in  the 
Ambrosian  Library,  which  manuscript  he  supposed  to  be  a  copy  of  the  original  report. 

•See  "Oregon  Question,"  p.  82,  and  Navarrete,  p.  li. 


564  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

We  need  not  enter  minutely  on  the  subject,  as  it  bears  only  a  remote  relation  to  our  object. 
The  reader  is  referred  to  Navarrete,  pp.  xlix-lii;  Twiss,  "The  Oregon  Question,"  London,  1846 
pp.  79-82  ;  London  Quarterly  Review,  1816,  vol.  16,  pp.  129-172.  The  author  of  the  article  in  the 
Quarterly  thinks  it  possible  that  Maldonado  might  have  seen  Cook's  River,  and  mistaken  it  for  a 
strait  between  America  and  Asia.  Seealco  Burney's  History  of  Voyages  to  the  South  Sea,  vol. 
V;  and  Barrow's  Chronological  History  of  Voyages  to  the  Arctic  Hay. 

The  story  of  Juan  de  Fuca  bears  more  directly  on  one  subject.  It  was  first  printed  by  Purchas 
in  his  third  volume,  and  was  published  in  1625,  although  it  seems  to  have  been  in  manuscript 
some  time  earlier,  and  may  have  been  known  to  a  few  persons.  The  Englishman  Lok  relates,  in 
the  report  published  by  Furcbas,  that  he  met  in  Venice  an  old  Greek  navigator  named  Juan  de 
Fuca  or  Apostolos  Valeriauos,  who  told  him  that  he  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Spanish  service,  and 
as  such  had  been  sent  in  1592  to  the  northwest  in  command  of  a  small  vessel  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mex 
ico,  probably  Don  Luis  de  Velasco,  who  tilled  that  post  from  1590  to  1595.  He  stated  that  he  had 
sailed  along  the  coast  of  California  beyond  the  forty-seventh  parallel  of  north  latitude;  and  there 
fonud  the  coast  trending  east  and  northeast,  forming  with  the  opposite  shore  a  broad  inlet.  At  the 
entrance  he  said  there  was  a  remarkable  rock,  having  the  appearance  of  an  island,  and  northwest 
of  it  a  pyramidal  rock. 

Beyond  this  strait  spread  a  wide  inland  sea,  which  stretched  into  openings  towards  the  south, 
the  north,  and  the  east.  At  various  places  on  the  shores  he  had  found  fertile  country  and  natives 
clothed  in  the  skins  of  animals.  He  further  asserted  that  he  sailed  a  long  course  through  open 
water,  and  after  passing  many  islands  came  out  into  the  North  Sea  or  Atlantic  Ocean,  from 
whence  he  returned  to  Mexico  and  reported  to  the  viceroy.  He  had  also  reported  in  person  to 
the  King  of  Spain,  but  though  well  received  in  both  instances  his  services  were  not  properly 
rewarded,  and  he  finally  returned  to  the  island  of  Cephalonia,  where  he  belonged. 

This  account  soon  after  appeared  in  a  work  published  by  Lucas  Fox,  and  was  repeated  by 
many  writers.  Believers  in  the  truth  of  the  narrative  were  numerous  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries.  De  Fuca's  discoveries,  like  those  of  Maldonado,  were  represented  on  maps, 
and  De  Fuca's  Strait  is  laid  down  north  of  California  in  contemporary  works,  at  about  47  or  48 
degrees  of  north  latitude. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  such  a  strait  as  De  Fuca  has  described  was  found 
beyond  the  forty-eighth  parallel,  trending  eastward,  opening  into  wide  water,  having  many 
islands  and  inlets  to  the  south,  north,  and  east;  surrounded,  too,  by  a  fertile  country,  and  peopled 
by  fur-clad  inhabitants.  Some  travelers  thought  they  recognized  the  pillar-like  rock  oil  the 
southern  side  of  the  entfauce,  as  he  had  represented. 

Many  were  induced  to  believe  in  the  truthfulness  of  De  Fuca's  report,  and  the  channel  was 
named  De  Fuca's  Strait.  Some  thought  that  the  first  part  of  his  story,  so  far  as  it  related  to  the 
channel  and  a  broad  gulf  beyond,  might  be  true,  but  doubts  were  entertained  in  regard  to  his 
coming  out  upon  the  Atlantic.  It  seems  likely  that  he  passed  around  Vancouver's  Island,  after 
being  in  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  and  so  passed  into  the  Pacific.  But  Navarrete  asserts  that  no 
navigator  of  the  name  Juan  de  Fuca  or  Apostolos  Valeriauos  was  ever  at  any  time  known  in 
Spain  or  mentioned  by  contemporary  Spanish  writers;  nor  is  there  extant  any  record  of  the  visit 
of  such  a  person  to  the  King  of  Spain  or  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico.  In  none  of  the  papers  relating 
to  the  expeditions  of  Vizcaino,  written  only  a  few  years  alter  1592  (the  time  of  De  Fuc.a's  supposed 
voyage),  can  be  found  any  allusion  to  him;  nor  is  any  document  bearing  on  his  history  in  the 
archives  of  Sevilla  or  New  Spain.  It  seems  probable  that  Juan  de  Fuca  never  made  a  voyage  in 
the  service  of  the  viceroy  of  Spain,  nor  discovered  a  strait  in  the  latitude  indicated,  and  it  may 
be  considered  as  a  mere  accident  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  strait  in  that 
region  was  described  in  a  manner  coinciding  so  nearly  with  the  reality  as  ascertained  at  a  much 
later  date. 

The  history  of  Spanish  expeditions  to  the  peninsula  of  California  is  somewhat  tedious.  They 
were  not  ably  conducted ;  they  entailed  large  expense ;  scarcely  furthered  the  progress  of  discovery ; 
and  in  no  instance  enlarged  the  boundaries  of  the  Spanish  settlements  In  fact,  they  touched  only 
the  soul  hern  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  peninsula.  The  western  coa.st  of  the  peninsula  was  not 
surveyed,  nor  was  the  upper  end  of  the  Sea  of  Cortes  visited  for  many  years.  Its  configuration,  well 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUEVEY.  565 

knbwn  in  the  time  of  Cortes  ami  Mendoza,  was  so  utterly  forgotten  that  the  gulf  was  supposed  to 
extend  to  the  forty-eighth  parallel,  and  that  it  connected  there  by  a  channel,  both  with  the  Pacific 
Ocean  and  with  the  Atlantic.  California  was  considered,  therefore,  not  as  part  of  the  continent, 
but  as  a  large  island  reaching  from  De  Fuca  Strait  to  Cape  San  Lucas.  This  erroneous  notion 
seems  to  have  originated-with  some  Dutch  freebooters  called  Pichilingues,  who  in  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century  formed  a  piratical  settlement  in  the  Bay  of  Pichilingue,  on  the  southern 
coast  of  California.  They  caused  it  to  be  reported  in  Holland  that  a  vessel  had  once  sailed 
through  the  Sea  of  Cortes  (Gulf  of  California)  to  the  north,  and  from  thence  had  come  out  upon  the 
Pacific,  thus  circumnavigating  the  whole  area  of  California.  The  story  was  believed,  and  a  map 
constructed  to  accord  with  it  was  sent  to  England.  Purchas,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  adherents 
of  this  geographical  theory,  published  an  account  of  it  in  1625  in  the  third  volume  of  his  Pilgrims, 
and  inserted  also  the  first  printed  map  of  North  America,  on  which  California  is  represented  as  an 
island,  and  the  Sea  of  Cortes  as  a  broad  channel  of  enormous  length.  The  views  of  Purchas  were 
adopted  by  nearly  all  the  geographers  of  the  time.  Spaniards,  even  forgetting  the  maps  of  Castillo 
and  their  other  pilots  (then  lying  in  the  Spanish  archives),  shared  at  last  fully  in  the  belief,  and 
about  the  year  1670  changed  the  name  California  to  another  in  honor  of  their  sovereign,  Charles 
II.  They  named  the  country  "las  Islas  Carolinas,"  intimating  that  it  formed  a  cluster  of  large 
islands!. 

The  unsuccessful  attempts  made  at  this  time  by  Spaniards,  in  regard  to  discovery  and  devel 
opment,  appear  as  types  of  the  condition  into  which  the  great  Spanish  monarchy  had  fallen.  In 
this  prostration  Mexico  participated.  Commonplace  explorers  with  great  pretensions  were  sent 
out,  and  were  styled  "  Admirals  ";  but  they  were  feeble  in  comparison  with  such  captains  as  Dlloa, 
Cabrillo,  and  Vizcaino. 

After  the  death  of  Vizcaino,  the  first  who  was  commissioned  to  conduct  an  expedition  to  Cal 
ifornia  appears  to  have  been  Juan  Iturbi.  With  two  ships  he  passed  along  the  greater  part  of  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  peninsula,  and  as  far  north  as  30°,  but  was  driven  back  by  northwesterly 
winds,  and  in  distress  reached  the  shores  of  Cinaloa,  where  he  was  received  by  the  Jesuit  mission 
aries,  who  saved  his  life.  Father  Andres  Perez  de  Ribas,  a  Jesuit,  wrote  the  history  of  this  expedi 
tion. 

One  of  the  vessels  of  Iturbi  had  been  captured  by  the  Pichilengues,  and  it  was  feared  that 
those  pirates  might  attack  also  the  returning  Manilla  galleon.  Iturbi,  therefore,  on  arrival,  was 
sent  out  again  to  protect  the  galleon,  and  the  further  exploration  of  California  was  abandoned. 
There  was  no  other  effort  in  regard  to  that  object  made  until  1632,  when  Francisco  de  Ortega 
attempted  it.  He  surveyed  only  a  small  part  of  the  coast  between  Cape  San  Lucas  and  the  Bahia 
de  la  Paz,  and  from  the  last  mentioned  place  made  his  way  back  to  Mexico.  In  1633  and  1634,  he 
made  two  other  voyages  to  the  same  region,  with  the  intention  of  founding  a  settlement,  but  the 
attempt  was  unsuccessful. 

Iturbi  seems  to  have  derived  some  profit  from  the  pearl  fisheries,  which  were  then  still 
productive.  Spanish  settlers  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  and  Cinaloa  were  thereby  induced  to  fit  out 
\  t-.-sHs  and  cross'the  Gulf  of  California  to  seek  for  pearls  on  the  opposite  shore. 

In  official  expeditions,  or  such  as  were  assisted  and  favored  by  Government,  Ortega  was 
followed  by  his  pilot,  Estavan  Carboneli,  who  affirrneiU  that  his  chief  had  failed  from  want  of 
knowledge  and  courage.  Carboueli  promised  to  find,  in  a  higher  latitude,  a  more  fertile  country, 
better  adapted  for  settlement,  and  he  set  sail  for  that  object  in  the  year  1536.  He  '•  advanced  as 
tar  north  as  he  could,"  to  what  latitude  is  not  stated,  but  only  sterile  rocks  and  poor  Indians 
\vt-ie  to  be  seen.  He  collected  some  pearls,  as  others  had  who  preceded  him,  and  returned  to  New 
Spain,  where  Ortega  saw  him  derided,  in  turn,  as  an  ignorant  poltroon. 

Veuegas  says  that  one  reason  why  these  repeated  expeditious  to  California  did  not  succeed 
was  that  no  care  was  taken  of  former  reports,  surveys,  maps  or  plans.  "  They  were  not  carefully 
preserved  and  made  known  by  print." 

The  usefulness  of  the  enterprise  being  evident,  it  was  renewed  in  the  year  1642  by  the  viceroy 
Don  Diego  Lopez  Pacheco,  who  sent  on  this  occasion  the  governor  of  Ciualoa,  Don  Luis  Cestin 
de  Canas,  with  soldiers  and  missionaries,  with  the  oiteu  repeated  instructions  "  to  survey  the 
coasts,  bays,  islands,  rivers,  inlets,  and  creeks  of  California."  The  result  was  much  the  same  as 


566  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

in  former  instances.  Cestiu  visited  Bahia  de  la  Paz,  and  from  thence  sailed  along  the  coast,  but 
only  "  forty  leagues  to  the  northwest."  Father  Jacinto  Cortes,  a  Jesuit  missionary  who  accom 
panied  him,  wrote  a  report  of  the  expedition,  which  report  was  sent  to  the  Viceroy,  with  some 
pearls  which  had  been  collected  on  the  coast. 

Governor  Cestin  was  followed  in  adventure  by  the  Admiral  Don  t'edro  Porter  dc  Casanate 
Venegas  so  writes  the  name,  but  in  Navarrete  it  is  written  "  Porter  y  Casanata." 

Casanate  embarked  for  California  in  1643.  Three  years  curlier  that  officer  had  been  commis 
sioned  to  survey  the  coasts  of  .the  Pacific  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  peninsula  (Lower 
California)  and  to  make  soundings.  Navarrete  says  that  the  results,  after  presentation  to  the 
council  of  the  Indies,  were  deposited  with  other  documents  in  the  "Archives  of  India." 

Duly  empowered  in  1640  to  make  the  intended  exploration,  ( 'asanate  had  also,  by  authority, 
a  monopoly  in  regard  to  navigation  in  the  Gulf.  The  reason  of  his  detention  in  Spain  is  not 
explained.  In  1644,  when  his  expedition  was  ready,  lie  was  ordered  to  sail  without  delay  toward 
Cape  San  Lucas,  to  convey  the  Manilla  galleon,  and  protect  it  against  some  English  and  Dutch 
pirates  who  had  been  seen  in  the  waters  of  New  Spain.  At  length  the  survey  was  commenced  on 
the  eastern  coast  of  the  peninsula,  but  was  again  deferred  in  consequence  of  an  urgent  call  to 
guard  the  Manilla  vessels  against  the  ever-threatening  pirates. 

Thus  interrupted,  the  Admiral  did  not  return  to  California,  but  reporting  the  difficulty  of  the 
undertaking  to  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  he  was  soon  afterwards  sent  to  South  America  and  made 
Governor  of  Chili.  His  abortive  undertakings  in  regard  to  geographical  development  were  so 
discouraging  that  an  interval  of  twenty  years  elapsed  in  which  nothing  was  done.  But,  towards 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  Philip  IV,  an  order  was  issued  for  further  exploration.  The  command 
of  an  expedition  was  intrusted  to  Admiral  Don  Bernardo  Bernal  de  1'inadero.  The  outfit  was 
small,  as  the  condition  of  the  Spanish  treasury  was  low.  With  two  small  vessels  he  sailed,  in 
1664,  for  California.  Instead,  however,  of  surveying  the  coast,  the  avaricious  soldiers  of  the  party 
would  attend  to  nothing  except  pearl  fishing.  They  forced  the  natives  to  do  all  the  heavy  work 
for  them,  and  when  a  quantity  of  pearls  had  been  secured  they  quarreled  among  themselves  in  the 
division.  Pinadero,  for  himself,  secured  a  small  share,  but  was  constantly  engaged  in  efforts  to 
keep  his  men  from  quarreling. 

A  second  voyage  by  the  same  admiral  in  1667  was  not  more  successful,  and  no  result  marked 
the  next  expedition,  which  was  led  by  Francisco  Lucenilla  in  1668. 

Philip  IV,  the  monarch  who  had  directed  the  last-mentioned  enterprises,  died  in  1665.  In  tin- 
early  part  of  the  reign  of  his  successor,  Charles  II,  nothing  was  done.  Bui  the  Council  of  the 
Indies,  aware  of  the  advantages  that  might  result  from  the  conquest  of  California,  determined  to 
renew  efforts  towards  that  end.  In  the  year  1677,  orders  for  the  purpose  were  issued  to  the  Viceroy 
of  Mexico,  and  a  contract  was  made  with  the  Admiral  Don  Isidore  de  Atondo  as  commander, 
who  was  confident  of  success  notwithstanding  the  failure  of  all  his  predecessors. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1683,  Atondo  sailed  with  two  ships  carrying  sailors  and  soldiers,  and  a 
third  vessel  laden  with  implements,  munitions,  and  provisions.  He  arrived  at  Bahia  de  la  Paz 
and  fortified  against  hostile  Indians,  but  the  store-ship,  beaten  off  by  storms,  was  so  long  delayed 
that  the  soldiers  suffered  for  want  of  t'ootL  One  of  the  vessels  was  therefore  sent  to  New  Spain 
and  obtained  a  cargo,  but  was  unable  to  reach  port.  Three  attempts  were  made,  but  the  vessel 
was  driven  back  although  in  sight  of  the  coast.  Under  these  circumstances  Atondo  found  it 
impossible  to  maintain  order,  and  was  obliged  to  abandon  his  position  at  La  Paz.  By  the  sale  01 
everything  he  could  dispense  with  he  was  enabled  to  procure  provisions,  and  he  embarked  for  a 
more  northern  bay  in  latitude  46°  30',  which  he  called  San  Bruno.  This  doubtless  was  the  bay 
afterwards  called  by  the  Jesuits  "Bahia  de  la  Conception." 

On  his  arrival  Atondo  commenced  a  settlement,  built  a  church,  and  passed  a  year  in  exploring 
the  neighboripg  regions.  He  made  distant  exclusions,  and  tried  by  traversing  the  peninsula  to 
reach  the  Pacific  side.  On  these  journeys,  and  generally  in  his  travels,  he  was  accompanied  by 
missionary  Jesuits,  who  thus  became  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  country  and  learned  the 
languages  of  the  natives.  At  the  head  of  these  missionaries  was  the  intelligent  Father  Kino,  or 
Kuhu,  a  German,  who  had  served  as  cosmographer  (cosmografo  mayor)  in  the  expedition,  and  who 
subsequently  wrote  a  very  interesting  account  of  it. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  567 

Atomic  seems  to  have  been  energetic,  but  lie  spent  nearly  three  years  in  ineffectual  attempts 
to  make  a  settlement  in  California.  Finding  it  impossible  to  procure  means  for  maintaining  a 
colony,  in  the  autumn  of  1(585  he  re-embarked  the  soldiers  and  missionaries,  and  taking  a  few  of 
the  baptized  Indians,  relumed  to  Mexico.  There  he  found  other  employment,  and  in  addition  was 
ordered  to  start  to  oppose  pirates  and  convoy  home  the  Manilla  galleons.  Nothing  was  gained  by 
the  expeditions  of  Atondo.  They  wefe  costly,  and  consequently  there  was  little  disposition  either 
in  Mexico  or  Spain  to  incur  further  outlay.  The  government  of  Mexico,  says  Father  Baegert  "  re 
nounced  not  only  all  activity  in  this  direction,  but  actually  refused  assistance  and  protection  for 
private  undertakings  to  California." 

1697-1717. 

California,  thus  abandoned  by  the  Spanish  Government,  still  had  the  attention  of  the  Jesuits, 
who  were  then  powerful  and  active  in  both  divisions  of  the  western  hemisphere.  They  had  estab 
lished  missions  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  through  Cinaloa,  Sonora,  and 
Pimeria,  and  furnished  missionaries,  journalists,  cosmographers,  and  historians  to  nearly  all  the 
Government  expeditions,  down  to  that  of  Admiral  Atoudo,  who  was,  as  .already  stated,  accompa 
nied  by  Father  Kino.  These  pious  men  thought  that  by  preaching  to  the  Indians,  and  conversing 
with  and  civilizing  them,  might  be  accomplished,  what  no  avaricious  merchant  or  pearl  fisher,  no 
sailor  or  soldier,  however  courageous,  had  been  able  td  effect,  the  settlement  and  exploration  of 
California.  They  proposed  therefore  a  system  of  procedure  in  which  missionaries  should  not  be 
subordinate  either  to  a  military  or  naval  chii'ftain.  Missionaries  were  to  take  the  lead  with  an 
army  at  their  command. 

The  most  complete  history  of  the  Jesuits  in  California  is  "Noticia  de  la  California  y  de  sucon. 
quista  temporal  y  espiritual  hasta  el  tiempo  presente,  sacada  de  la  historia  manuscripta  formado 
in  Mexico  aiio  de  1739,  por  el  padre  Miguel  Venegas,  de  la  Compania  de  Jesus  ;  y  deotras  Noticias 
y  Kelaciones  antiqnas  y  modernas  Anaclidfl  de^lgunos  mapas  particulares,  Madrid,  1757."  The 
work  is  in  three  volumes,  and  is  generally  ascribed  to  Venegas;  but  the  history  of  California  is 
carried  by  him  only  down  to  the  year  1739.  Andreas  Marco  Burriel  compiled  from  the  manuscripts 
of  Venegas  and  from  other  sources  and  issued  an  edition  in  1752.  The  work  is  valuable,  but  there 
are  misprints  in  regard  to  the  chronology.  The  third  volume  contains  interesting  quotations  from 
other  authors  and  treatises  on  geographical  questions  relating  to  California. 

On  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Jesuits  in  California,  from  1752  to  1767,  when  they  were 
compelled  to  leave  that  country,  many  books  have  been  published.  One  of  the  most  valuable  of 
these  was  written  by  Baegert,  and  was  printed  in  1773.  Baegert  was  a  German  Jesuit  who  passed 
much  time  in  California.  His  clear  narrative  and  description  of  the  country  include  references  to 
the  missions  and  journeys,  and  mention  of  the  close  of  that  religious  order  on  the  coast.  This  work 
also  was  translated  into  English  and  some  other  languages.  ' 

Juan  Maria  Salvatierra,  an  Italian  nobleman  of  Milan,  and  a  Jesuit,  was  at  this  time  in 
Mexico.  He  was  known  as  a  man  "of  zealous  faith,  of  large  mind,  and  of  great  patience,  and 
withal  of  a  strong  bodily  constitution."  While  visiting  the  mission  of  Sonora  he  met  the  German 
Jesuit  Franz  Kuhn  (called  by  the  Spaniards  Francisco  Kino),  who  told  him  of  the  neglected  state 
of  the  country  and  of  the  misery  of  its  inhabitants.  This  relation  kindled  in  the  mind  of  Salva 
tierra  a  desire  for  Christianizing  the  Indians.  He  finally  received  permission  to  go  to  California, 
but  nothing  was  to  be  expended  from  the  royal  treasury  on  his  account. 

Salvatierra  was  poor,  but  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  Acapulco,  Gil  de  la  Sierpe,  placed  at  his 
disposal  two  vessels  and  a  sum  of  money.  He  received  contributions  also  from  Europe.  Five 
soldiers,  several  seamen,  and  some  associates  accompanied  him,  and,  having  procured  a  cannon, 
with  provisions  for  the  expedition,  he  sailed,  in  October,  1697,  from  Cinaloa  to  the  coast  of  Cali 
fornia,  and  settled  in  latitude  about  26°  north,  where  he  founded  a  mission  which  he  called  San 
Loretto.  He  preached  to  the  Indians  in  their  own  language,  baptized  them,  and  resolved  to  pass 
his  life  in  religious  work.  More  than  twenty  times  he  crossed  the  Mar  Vermejo,  and  was  enabled 
by  the  assistance  of  his  friends  in  Mexico  to  procure  men,  missionaries,  and  provisions,  and  to 
found  several  other  missions  on  the  coast  of  California.  Between  the  years  1697  and  1716  he 


568  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

expended  in  this  work  300,000  "pesos  d tiros,"  collected  by  himself  and  his  pious  companions  from 
devoted  individuals  and  corporations  in  sympathy  with  the  cause. 

This  was  the  first  of  several  Jesuit  missions  in  Lower  California.  They  attracted  attention 
in  Europe,  and  were  believed  to  be  constituents  of  a  powerful  domination  aiming  at  riches  and 
empire.  Such  was  the  accusation,  and  it  resulted  in  the  dissolution  of  the  order. 

What  the  Dane  Egede  did.  for  Greenland,  Salvatierra  effected  for  California.  He  labored  also 
for  the  exploration  of  the  country,  made  excursions  to,the  interior,  and  decided  the  long-standing 
doubt  concerning  the  peninsula,  which  by  many  was  supposed  to  be  an  island.  At  his  request, 
Father  Kino  traversed  the  country  from  Souora  to  the  Rio  Colorado.  The  usual  residence  of  Kino 
was  the  mission  of  Neustra  Sonora  de  Dolores,  on  the  northern  frontier  of  Sonora.  In  one  of  his 
journeys  (in  the  year  1700)  he  followed  the  course  of  the  river  Gila  down  to  its  junction  with  the 
Colorado,  but  for  want  of  provisions  could  proceed  no  further.  Before  returning  he  ascended  a 
mountain,  and,  looking  westward  and  southward,  saw  continuous  land.  Venegas  says  that  with 
"a  spy  -glass"  he  traced  the  course  of  the  Colorado  to  the  gulf  and  recognized  the  mountains. 
Convinced  of  the  continuity  of  land  between  Sonora  and  California,  and  assured  also  by  the 
Indians  of  different  tribes  assembled  around  him  (about  five  hundred  in  all),  Kino  yielded  to  the 
necessity  forced  on  him  by  the  sickness  of  his  companions,  as  well  as  want  of  provisions,  and 
returned  home. 

Though  highly  pleased,  Salvatierra  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with  a  conclusion  based  on 
a  distant  view.  He  required  practical  proof.  Nothing  less  than  actually  walking  around  the  gulf 
on  dry  land  would  thoroughly  settle  the  question.  The  Fathers  therefore  proposed  to  set  out  from 
Kino's  mission  Dolores,  in  Sonora,  walk  around  the  gulf,  and  down  on  its  western  side  to  the  mission 
of  Salvatierra  (San  Loretto),  in  California.  Salvatierra  joined  his  companion  at  Sonora,  and  both 
set  out  on  this  expedition  from  Dolores  on  the  1st  of  March,  1701.  Taking  a  route  different  from 
the  one  traveled  by  Kino  previously,  they  did  not  go  as  far  north  as  the  Gila,  but  turned  westward 
to  follow  the  shore  of  the  gulf,  and  reached  a  sandy,  waterless  desert,  in  which  J;he  party  suffered 
with  heat.  They  were  obliged,  therefore,  to  content  themselves  with  a  view  of  the  shores  from  an 
elevation  of  the  Sierra  de  Santa  Clara,  a  mountain  range,  where  the  party  assembled,  and  from 
thence  saw  the  coast  of  California,  the  narrow  northern  end  of  the  lake,  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Colorado,  after  which  they  returned  to  Dolores. 

At  the  end  of  the  same  year,  1701,  Father  Kino  again  went  north  and  followed  the  Gila  and 
Colorado  to  avoid  the  sandy  desert.  He  passed  down  the  Colorado,  landed  on  the  western  shore, 
and  in  the  country  adjacent  found  only  wide  plains  and  saw  hills  in  the  distance,  but  no 
appearance  of  any  prolongation  of  the  Gulf.  The  Indians  told  him  of  the  ocean,  and  showed  him 
shells  from  the  "contra  costa,"  which,  they  said,  could  be  reached  in  ten  days'  walking.  Kino 
wished  to  make  a  journey  to  Monterey  and  also  to  Cape  Mendociuo,  but  being  unable  to  cross  the 
Colorado  with  horses  and  mules  he  wrote  to  Salvatierra  from  the  western  side  of  the  river,  and 
sent  the  letter  by  an  Indian,  trusting  that  it  might  be  forwarded  to  San  Loretto. 

In  1702  Kino  made  the  last  of  his  excursions,  and  was  then  accompanied  -by  Father  Martin 
Gonzalez.  Again  he  reached  the  junction  of  the  Gila  and  Colorado,  and  from  thence  passed  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  last-named  river,  and  reached  its  mouth,  which  until  then  Kino  had  only 
seen  from  afar.  There  many  friendly  Indians  from  the  western  side  gathered  around  him, 
described  their  country,  its  rivers  and  mountains,  and  stating  the  distance  to  the  ocean,  invited 
him  to  visit  their  settlement.  But  Kino  was  again  prevented  from  going  westward.  His 
companion,  Gonzalez,  fell  sick  and  died,  and  was  buried  on  the  road.  Occupied  with  missionary 
duties  elsewhere,  Kino  was  unable  afterwards  to  visit  the  northern  end  of  the  gulf.  He  died  in 
1710  and  Father  Salvatierra  in  1717,  leaving  unsettled  the  question  in  regard  to  the  continental 
character  of  California. 

JUAN  UGARTE,  1721. 

The  Gulf  of  California  had  been  partially  examined.  Its  shores  had  been  looked  at  from  the 
mast  of  some  distant  vessel,  but  the  indentations  were  scarcely  known. 

The  first  traveler  who  gave  particular  attention  to  such  details  was  the  Father,  Juan  Ugarte, 
who,  in  1721,  built  two  small  vessels  and  sailed  on  the  15th  of  May  from  the  Bay  of  San  Dionisio 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUEVEY.  569 

rle  Loretto.  With  the  crews  were  several  who  had  passed  through  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  and 
also  an  able  and  intelligent  pilot,  Guillermo  Estrafort. 

Sailing  north  along  the  eastern  coast  of  the  gulf  this  party  closely  examined  the  shores, 
corrected  the  errors  of  early  maps,  and  after  encountering  dangers  and  difficulties  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Colorado  early  in  July.  In  the  middle  of  that  month  they  turned  back,  and  on  the 
home  voyage  surveyed  parts  of  the  eastern  and  western  shores  of  the  Gulf.  In  September,  1721, 
they  arrived  at  the  port  of  San  Loretto,  and^there  announced  that  between  the  Peninsula  of 
California  and  the  Province  of  Pimeria  there  was  no  water  excepting  that  of  the  Kio  Colorado. 

Father  Ugarte  wrote  an  account  of  this  expedition  and  appended  to  it  the  map  of  his  pilot, 
Estrafort,  which  map,  says  Veuegas,  he  considered  the  principal  result  of  the  undertaking,  but 
neither  the  narration  nor  the  map  seem  to  have  been  published. 

1732. 

The  Jesuits  had  for  a  long  period  manifested  interest  in  the  exploration  of  the  interior  of  the 
peninsula  and  of  what  was  then  called  "  contra  costa,"  or  the  seaward  side  of  the  peninsula.  They, 
in  fact,  inherited  the  purpose  of  forming  some  settlement  for  the  benefit  of  the  returning  Manilla 
galleons.  Several  "  entradas  "  had  been  made,  the  first  by  Father  Ugarte,  after  many  difficulties, 
in  the  year  1700,  when  a  tract  of  about  20  leagues  was  'surveyed  near  the  twenty-fifth  degree  of 
north  latitude.  A  company,  conducted  by  the  same  Father,  in  1712  founded  not  far  from  the  ocean 
(at  about  26°  north  latitude)  the  mission  of  Purissima  Concepciou  de  Maria,  and  surveyed  part  of 
the  coast.  In  1719  Father  Clemente  Guikeu  led  an  expedition  to  the  vicinity  of  24£  north  latitude, 
and  examined  Bahia  de  Magdalena,  which  had  been  named  by  Vizcaino,  and  noted  by  him  as  one 
of  the  best  protected  ports  in  that  region.  In  that  neighborhood  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Gonzaga 
was  established  by  the  Jesuits.  But  the  most  interesting  of  the  expeditions  patronized  by  that 
order  was  accomplished  by  Sigismundo  Taraval,  in  1732. 

Born  of  noble  parents  at  Todi,  in  Lombardy,  Taraval  was  well  instructed.  In  the  year  1730, 
and  when  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  he  arrived  in  California.  The  most  northwesterly  mission  then 
maintained  was  at  San  Ignacio,  near  28  degrees  north  latitude,  the  care  of  which  was  confided  to 
Taraval,  with  directions  to  explore  the  region  beyond  and  open  the  way  for  similar  establishments. 
Putting  himself  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  baptized  and  friendly  Indians,  he  traveled  six  days 
and  reached  a  bay,"which  he  called  Bahia  de  San  Xavier,  the  latitude  of  which  is  not  stated  in 
the  narrative.  There  he  saw  several  small  islands,  distant  6  or  7  leagues  from  the  coast ;  .and 
after  constructing  a  balsa,  sailed  over  to  one  of  them  but  found  only  birds.  So  he  named 
the  group  "  Islas  de  Aves,"  I.  e.,  Bird  Islands.  Another  island,  some  leagues  from  these,  in 
latitude  about  31  degrees  north,  he  named  "  Isla  de  Neblinas,"  or  Foggy  Island.  In  the  interior 
of  this  last  was  a  considerable  mountain  which  Taraval  ascended,  and  at  a  distance  of  8  or  10 
leagues  saw  a  cluster  of  islands,  which  he  named  "  Islas  de  los  Dolores."  Against  the  horizon 
other  islands  were  seen  at  the  north,  which  he  supposed  to  be  the  Santa  Barbara  group,  one  of 
which  had  been  called  "  Isla  de  Santa  Catalina"  by  the  navigator  Vizcaino.  There  is  little  doubt  /  / 
that  the  "  Dolores  "  mentioned  by  Taraval  were  the  Coronados  Islands. 

On  the  map  of  North  America,  in  the  third  volume  of  the  History  of  California  by  Veuegas,          ' 
these  islands  are  put  down  in  latitude  32  degrees  north,  and  are  marked  "  Islas  de  los  Dolores, 
recouocidas  por  el  Padre  Sigismundo  Taraval  en  1732." 

The  bay  named  by  Taraval  "  Bahia  de  San  Xavier "  is  not  indicated  on  this  or  on  any  other       /f 
map.     Probably  it  is  the  small  bay  now  known  as-  San  Diego  Harbor.    Venegas  says  that  Vizcaino 
passed,  perhaps  in  the  night,  from  the  harbor  of  San  Diego  to  the  Bay  of  San  Xavier,  and  then 
discovered  near  this  bay  the  island  of  Catalina. 

After  Taraval  no  Jesuit  missionary  went  so  far  north  of  Mexico.  "  We  wished  very  much," 
says  Venegas,  "to  found  missions  on  the  islands  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  seen  by  our  father, 
but  the  distance  was  too  great,  and  we  had  still  too  much  to  do  in  our  immediate  vicinity." 

1746. 

An  expedition  similar  to  that  of  Ugarte  in  1721  was  undertaken  by  Father  Fernando  Consak, 
a  native  of  Bohemia,  in  1746.     With  four  canoes,  he  started  from  the  bay  of  San  Carlos  (latitude 
H.  Ex.  43 72 


570  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

28  degrees  north)  on  the  9th  of  June.  His  undertaking  closely  resembles  that  of  Ugarte,  both  in 
regard  to  route  and  as  respects  the  conclusions.  Consak  explored  the  coasts,  bays,  inlets,  and 
islands  along  the  eastern  shore  of  Lower  California,  and  on  the  llth  of  July  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Colorado.  He  tried  to  ascend  the  river  with  his  canoes,  but  the  current  was  too  strong  for 
his  oarsmen  to  admit  of  any  considerable  advance.  He  surveyed,  however,  on  the  return  some  • 
parts  of  the  gulf,  and  constructed  a  map,  of  w^ich  Venegas  gives  a  copy  in  the  third  volume  of 
his  History  of  California. 

1766. 

As  no  one  had  actually  walked  round  the  northern  end  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  some  doubt 
remained.  To  settle  the  matter  finally,  Father  Winceslaus  Link  was  sent,  in  1760,  to  go  by  land 
through  the  peninsula  toward  the  Rio  Colorado.  He  was  then  in  charge  of  the  mission  of  San 
Borgia,  t'nen  the  most  northerly  establishment  of  the  Jesuits.  The  journey  was  commenced  with 
sixteen  Spanish  soldiers  and  one  hundred  Indians.  After  a  weary  march  they  reached  a  point 
20  or  30  leagues  from  the  Colorado,  and  there  his  Indians  were  all  sick ;  his  horses  and  mules 
died,  and  the  soldiers  were  so  jr.uch  dispirited  that  Link  was  obliged  to  retrace  his  steps. 
As  far  as  could  be  seen,  however,  he  discovered  only  sandy  plains  about  the  north  end  ot  the 
gulf,  aiid  like  those  who  preceded  him,  it  was  reported  to  be  landlocked.  From  his  time  Lower 
California  has  been  universally  known  as  a  peninsula.  A  few  years  after  this  the  Jesuits  were 
forced  to  leave  the  country  which  they  had  explored,  cultivated,  and  peacefully  governed.  For 
some  years  an  opinion  prevailed  in  Europe  that  the  Jesuits  had  in  California  and  in  Paraguay, 
powerful  and  populous  empires,  and  that  enormous  wealth  had  been  derived  from  their  gold  mines 
and  pearl  fisheries.  When  therefore  the  dissolution  of  the  order  throughout  the  world  was 
decreed,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  (in  1767)  sent  an  armed  force,  under  Don  Gaspar  de  Portola,  to 
California,  with  directions  to  seize  the  country  in  the  King's  name  and  assume  jurisdiction  as 
Royal  Governor.  The  Jesuits  were  arrested  at  their  several  missions  and  sent  to  Spain.  Some 
perished,  and  others,  after  much  suffering,  reached  Europe.  Portola  was  not  resisted,  but  he 
found  instead  of  the  expected  El  Dorado,  a  very  poor,  rocky  country,  with  only  wild  tribes  of 
Indians,  who  had  made  under  the  guidance  of  the  Jesuits,  their  first  advances  toward  civili 
zation. 

Franciscan  friars  were  substituted  for  the  displaced  missionaries,  and  the  work  of  colonization 
inclined  toward  the  .far  northwest.  In  the  course  of  twenty-five  years  that  region  was  rapidly 
developed. 

RUSSIAN  EXPEDITIONS. 

The  Jesuits,  by  their  settlements  and  exploration  of  the  peninsula  and  Gulf  of  California,  laid 
a  foundation  for  farther  progress  towards  the  northwest.  Two  European  nations,  the  Russians 
and  the  French,  advanced  from  opposite  directions  to  the  same  region.  Their  enterprises  influ 
enced  the  ideas  of  geographers,  and  moved  the  Spanish  Government  to  make  a  final  exploration 
of  that  part  of  the  country. 

A  sketch  will  suffice  to  mark  the  discoveries  made  by  Russians  in  their  expeditions  from 
Siberia.  Cossacks  had  passed  the  Ural  Mountains  and  commenced  an  easterly  movement  at  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  They  traversed  Siberia  and  arrived  on  the  shores  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  by  thft  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  One  of  these  named  Deschnew,  as  early  as 
1646,  sailed  through  Bering  Strait,  but  left  no  detailed  account  of  his  adventures.  Others  followed, 
and  by  reaching  the  peninsula  of  Kamtchatka  gave  the  Cossacks  some  notion  of  lands  east  of 
Siberia.  There  had  been  amongst  them  the  rumor  of  an  "  eastern  "country  or  island,"  with  large 
rivers  and  forests  in  which  were  fur-bearing  animals.  The  enterprising  monarch,  Peter  the  Great, 
formed  a  plan  for  the  exploration  of  the  region,  but  his  death  not  long  afterwards  devolved  the 
execution  of  the  scheme  upon  hi.s  successor. 

In  1728  Capt.  Victus  Bering,  chosen  by  the  Emperor  Peter  for  the  undertaking,  sailed 
from  Kamtchatka  and  took  a  northeasterly  course.  He  saw  only  the  western  part  of  the  gulf 
which  bears  his  name,  crossed  the  strait  dividing  Asia  from  America  (traversed  fey  Deschnew), 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUEYEY.  571 

and  reached,  at  the  sixty-sixth  parallel,  a  promontory  which  he  believed  to  be  the  most  northern 
headland  of  Asia.     From  that  point  he  returned  home. 

In  the  time  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth  (1741),  a  more  important  expedition  moved,  under 
command  of  the  same  Bering.  With  two  ships,  one  in  charge  of  Captain  Tschirikow,  a  Russian, 
he  sailed  from  Kamtchatka  in  a  southern  and  eastern  direction.  The  vessels  were  soon  separated 
by  a  storm,  but  both  reached  the  coast  of  America,  though  at  different  points.  Bering  made 
laud  under  60  degrees  north  latitude  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  large  mountain,  called  since  his 
time  Mount  Saint  Elias,  and  Tschirikow  at  56  degrees  north  latitude  touched  on  one  of  the  islands 
now  known  as  the  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago;  but  neither  of  the  commanders  could  go  farther. 
Their  crews  were  sick  and  their  means  of  subsistence  exhausted.  On  the  home  voyage  they  saw 
some  of  the  Aleutian  Islands.  On  a  small  island  west  of  them  Bering  was  wrecked  and  died, 
but  his  crew  and  Captain  Tschirikow's  returned  safely  to  Kamtchatka  before  the  end  of  1741, 
beariug  the  news  of  their  discoveries  to  Europe. 

The  operations  last  mentioned  resulted  in  the  introduction  of  a  new  fur-bearing  animal,  the 
sea  otter,  which  soon  became  one  of  the  chief  inducements  for  future  expeditious  and  explorations 
in  the  northwest.  On  the  island  where  Bering  died  his  crew  killed  many  of  these  animals,  and 
in  China  sold  the  skins  at  large  prices. 

The  Russian  Governmeut  did  not  at  once  follow  up  the  geographical  discoveries  of  Bering, 
but  enterprising  individuals  fitted  out  private  expeditions  to  hunt  the  otter.  None  of  these 
reached  the  coasts  visited  by  Bering  aud  Tschirikow,  but  they  explored  the  Aleutian  Islands  and 
brought  home  some  sketches  and  maps. 

In  1764  the  Russians  occupied  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska,  on  the  continent  of  America.,  mistaking 
it  for  an  island,  and  formed  different  trading  establishments  and  hunting  stations.  At  length 
these  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Russian  Government,  and  induced  an  official  investigation  in 
regard  to  their  extent  and  connection  with  other  countries. 

By  order  of  the  Empress  Catharine  II,  expeditions  were  dispatched  about  the  time  of  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  California,  and  the  substitution  of  more  active  explorers  (the 
Franciscan  missionaries)  to  fill  places  vacated  by  that  religious  order.  The  first  was  sent  in 
1766-'67,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Synd,  and  the  second  in  1768,  in  charge  ot  Captain 
Krinitzyu  and  Lieutenant  Lewashoff.  But  these  navigators  failed  in  attempting  to  reach  the 
latitudes  attained  by  Bering  and  Tschirikow.  They  effected  nothing  except  a  little  improvement 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  position  and  condition  of  the  Aleutian  fur  islands.  The  attention  of  the 
Spanish  Government,  anxious  to  preserve  and  defend  its  old  pretensions  to  the  possession  of  the 
Pacific,  was  excited  by  these  movements.  They  were  regarded  as  invasions  of  Spanish  California. 

FRENCH   EXPEDITIONS. 

The  expeditions  of  the  French,  sent  out  westward  from  Canada,  and  their  discoveries,  like 
those  of  the  Russians,  could  not  but  influence  the  views  held  in  regard  to  the  nature  and  con 
figuration  of  the  northwestern  coast.  On  the  Saint  Lawrence  the  French  were  told  of  a  great 
expanse  of  water  at  the  westward,  and  they  supposed  it  to  be  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as,  according  to 
opinions  then  prevalent,  the  continent  was  not  of  very  great  breadth.  The  first  English  settlers 
in  Virginia  believed  that  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains  there  was  a  large  sea,  supposed  by 
some  to  be  the  Pacific,  by  others  only  a  bay  or  branch  of  the  Gulf  of  Cortes  (California:!  Gulf),  and 
that  supposed  sea  is  marked  on  some  of  the  early  maps  of  Virginia. 

The  French  had  found  that  the  so-called  "Great  Sea"  was  merely  a  series  of  lakes.  In  1673,  by 
passing  the  Mississippi  they  disproved  also  the  supposition  in  regard  to  the  proximity  of  the 
Pacific.  Its  coast  was,  however,  in  imagination,  removed  only  so  far  west  as  was  made 
needful  in  representation  by  positive  evidence.  It  remained  a  favorite  idea  with  the  Canadian, 
French,  and  Virgiuian  English  that  the  continental  breadth  was  not  great,  and  at  each  step  west 
ward  they  expected  to  find  watercourses  running  in  that  direction. 

In  the  year  1683,  soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi,  a  French  traveler,  the  Baron 
Lahonlau,  while  exploring  the  river  "Moiugoua,"  (perhaps  the  Minnesota),  met  some  Indians  who 
told  him  of  a  river  running  westward.  One  of  them  painted  upon  a  buffalo  skin  a  map  of  the 


572  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

river  with  its  mouth  opening  into  a  large  expanse  of  water;  and  on  the  shores  of  that  expanse 
were  towns  and  trading  vessels.  This  story  is  like  the  vision  of  the  Spaniard,  Coronado,  who  also 
saw  salt  water  at  the  west,  with  great  gilded  trading  ships.  Lahoulan  brought  home  a  map,  and 
we  see  in  consequence  on  French  publications  of  that  day  a  great  western  river  not  far  from  the 
Mississippi,  and  in  addition  the  shore  of  a  broad  stretch  of  salt  water,  but  whether  intended 
for  a  large  inland  lake  (Utah!)  or  part  of  the  ORliforuian  gulf,  or  the  Pacific  itshlf,  cannot  be 
decided. 

In  1721  Charlevoix,  a  French  Jesuit,  went  down  the  Mississippi,  and  was  told  by  Indians  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  that  they  had  been  westward  and  found  its  source  in  very  high  mount 
ains,  on  the  other  side  of  which  was  a  stream  flowing  towards  the  west.  A  similar  but  more 
circumstantial  account  of  this  western  river  was  given  by  an  Indian  to  Du  Pratz,  another  French 
traveler,  in  1735.  He  called  it  Tacoutche  Tessee,  and  said  he  had  traveled  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth,  or  as  far  down  as  the  great  water  towards  the  setting  sun.  Amongst  Indians  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Missouri  some  French  voyagers  saw  sea-shells,  which  had  probably  come  from  hand 
to  hand  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  these  were  considered  as 
sure  indications  that  an  ocean  existed  in  the  west. 

In  the  northwest  the  French  discovered  and  traced  the  river  of  the  Assinaboiues  and  the 
Saskatchawan,  obtained  some  knowledge  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  also  heard  again  of  the 
"Great  River  of  the  West." 

Amongst  the  travelers  in  that  region  was  the  Chevalier  de  la  Vereuderye,  a  man  of  enterprisiug 
spirit,  who,  with  his  sous,  manifested  steady  interest  in  geographical  development,  but  it  is  not 
probable  that  he  actually  reached  the  mountains.  He  went  far  in  that  direction,  and  pictured  them 
on  his  map,  as -also  the  river  of  the  west,  which  is  represented  as  an  outflow  of  Lake  Winnipeg. 
The  French  map-makers  who  followed  his  indications,  as,  for  example,  N.  Belliu,  in  1743,  not  only 
sketched  the  river,  but  added  some  parts  of  the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  which  they  adopted  as  the 
western  boundary  of  La  Nouvelle  France,  or  "  Canada."  Opinions  respecting  the  mouth  of  the 
river  were  as  various  as  those  held  in  regard  to  the  source.  Some  thought  that  it  led  to  the  harbor 
of  San  Francisco,  where  two  western  rivers  do  in  fact  join  their  waters.  Others  supposed  it  to 
flow  in  the  opening  seen  by  Martin  d'Aguilar,  and  some  had  in  view  an  outlet  towards  the 
Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca. 

The  English  traveler  Carver,  who,  like  Verenderye,  set  out  intending  to  reach  the  Pacific, 
says :  "  The  river  Oregon,  or  River  of  the  West,  falls  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  the  Strait  of  Aiiiiin." 
Miiller,  the  able  German  historian  of  Russian  discoveries,  says:  "According  to  my  opinion,  the 
much  spoken  of  Great  River  of  the  West  falls  into  the  ocean  opposite  either  to  Kamtchatka  or 
the  .country  of  the  Tschuktschi." 

Spaniards  showed  on  maps  of  the  country  northwest  of  Mexico  some  large  rivers,  but  the 
directions  are  marked  as  uncertain.  Their  names  are  Rio  Dolores,  Rio  Buenaventura,  Rio  San 
Felipe1,  Eio  Los  Monges,  and  others.  Some  believed  these  to  be  independent  streams,  but  others 
supposed  they  were  branches  of  one  large  river,  probably  the  Oregon,  mentioned  by  Carver,  or, 
as  named  by  the  French,  "  Riviere  de  1'Onest." 

The  French  lost  control  in  Canada  before  their  explorations  could  be  extended  from  the  Saint 
Lawrence  and  Mississippi  towards  the  Pacific.  Others  completed  the  work,  as  will  be  mentioned 
hereafter.  Neither  the  expeditious  of  the  Jesuits  nor  those  of  the  Russians  or  French  at  this 
period  reached  the  middle  of  the  northwestern  coast  of  America,  though  many  speculations  and 
hypotheses  were  started  by  them.  There  remained  an  immense  tract  as  little  known  in  1750  as 
it  had  been  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Before  alluding  to  further  operations, 
two  enterprises  of  this  period  will  be  touched  on,  namely,  the  apocryphal  discoveries  of  the  so- 
called  Admiral  Fonte,  and  the  expedition  to  California  under  the  astronomer  Chappe. 

The  so-called  voyages  and  discoveries  of  Admiral  Fonte  have  no  historical  foundation.  Before 
the  year  1708  no  one  had  heard  of  such  a  person.  Then  it  was  for  the  first  time  mentioned  that 
he  had  made  important  discoveries  in  the  year  1640.  When  first  told  the  story  gained  little 
attention,  but  in  1750  the  two  eminent  French  geographers  De  1'Isle  and  Buache  declared  their 
belief  and  brought  the  details  before  the  Academy  of  France,  and  the  story  attracted  much  atten 
tion.  Even  the  Spanish  Jesuits  in  California  occupied  themselves  towards  the  close  of  their  tenure 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC-  SURVEY.  573 

with  the  subject.     It  seems  proper,  therefore,  to  mention  it,  which  may  be  done  briefly,  as  Venegas, 
the  anualist  of  the  Californian  Jesuits,  gives  a  treatise  ou  De  Fonte  in  bis  third  volume.  ^ 

Of  De  Fonte's  pretended  discoveries  none  but  that  of  the  Bio  de  los  Eeyes  was  ever  'deemed 
plausible. 

In  1708,  without  signature  or  mention  of  authority,  an  English  periodical,  "  The  Monthly  Miscel 
lany  or  Memoirs  of  the  Curious,"  contained  an  article  entitled  "A  Narrative,"  in  which  a  certain  Admi 
ral  Bartoloine  de  Fonte  or  Fueute  relates  that  he  was  sent  by  order  of  the  King  of  Spaiu  and  the 
Viceroy  of  Peru,  in  the  year  1040,  to  make  discoveries  on  the  northwestern  coast  of  America ;  that 
he  had  sailed  in  furtherance  along  the  coast  of  California,  and  reached,  at  about  53  degrees  north 
latitude,  the  mouth  of  a  great  river,  which  he  named  Eio  de  los  Eeyes,  and  opposite  to  this  a  large 
archipelago,  which  he  called  u  San  Lazaro."  He  further  states  that  he  entered  the  river  and  passing 
northeast  discovered  lakes,  channels,  and  other  waters,  to  each  of  which  he  gave  a  name,  and  at 
last  leaving  his  vessel  in  one  of  the  lakes  he  traveled  overland  to  Hudson's  Bay,  where  he  found 
a  ship  from  Boston  in  New  England.  The  narrative  adds  that  while  De  Fonte  was  ou  his  extra 
ordinary  journey,  one  of  his  officers  made  at  the  north  similar  discoveries  of  channels,  lakes,  and 
passages  from  the  Pacific  into  the.northern  waters,  that  he  had  given  names  to  all-  of  them,  and 
described  each  of  them  minutely  in  his  report  to  the  Admiral. 

The  fiction  here  mentioned  would  not  be  worthy  of  notice  if  such  intelligent  men  as  T.  N.  de 
lisle  and  Philippe  Buache  had  not  brought  the  matter  before  the  Academy  of  France,  and  declared 
their  belief  in  its  authenticity.  English  writers  have  made  it  probable  that  the  story  was  fur 
nished  by  Mr.  James  Petiver.  the  naturalist,  whose  taste  and  talents  for  such  productions  were 
well  known.  When  eminent  French  geographers  issued  a  map  showing  the  preteuded  discoveries 
of  De  Fonte,  of  course  they  had  imitators.  Jefferys,  Brouckner,  and  Beruouille,  among  others, 
adopted  the  whole  or  part,  copied  the  map,  and  gave  the  names  "Archipelago  de  San  Lazaro," 
"Mlo  de  los  Eeyes,"  and  others,  thus  perpetuating  the  fable  and  promulgating  it  to  the  world. 

1769. 

The  voyage  of  the  astronomer,  M.  Chappe  d'Auteroche,  was  one  of  several  made  to  different 
parts  of  the  globe  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  transit  of  Venus  which  occurred  on  the  3d  of 
June,  1709.  The  French  Academy  was  at  the  head  of  the  enterprise,  and  wished  to  have  observa 
tions  made  on  one  of  the  Spanish  South  Sea  Islauds,  but  permission  being  refused,  the  peninsula 
of  California  was  chosen  instead,  and  there  the  court  of  Spaiu  was  willing  to  lend  a  helping  hand. 
So  a  combined  expedition  was  arranged,  of  Spanish  and  French  observers,  and  the  direction  was 
given  to  Chappe,  who  had  previously  made  a  voyage  to  Siberia  in  the  interest  of  astronomy.  For 
the  observations  of  176!)  he  was  amply  provided  with  astronomical  and  mathematical  instruments, 
and  he  was  accompanied  by  a  French  geographical  engineer  and  a  watchmaker.  Two  Spanish 
astronomers,  M.  Doz  and  M.  Medina,  joined  him  at  Cadiz  ou  his  way  to  the  New  World. 

The  party  expected  to  sail  in  one  of  the  ships  of  the  great  Spanish  fleet  destined  for  Vera  Cruz, 
but  its  departure  being  deferred  from  week  to  week,  the  time  for  the  transit  of  Venus  drew  so 
near  that  a  vessel  was  hastily  made  ready,  and  they  sailed  to  Mexico  and  in  a  miserable  condition 
lauded  on  the  8th  of  March,  1709.  With  a  caravan  of  mules  the  instruments  were  transported  to 
the  harbor  of  Sari  Bias,  and  after  long  detention  by  calms  and  high  winds  the  party  reached  the 
shore  of  the  peninsula  of  California  at  a  point  near  the  mission  of  Saint  Joseph,  where,  having 
some  time  left,  they  erected  observatories  in  barns  and  under  tents. 

Favored  by  serene  skies,  M.  Chappe  had  the  good  fortune  to  record  a  series  of  satisfactory 
observations  on  the  transit  and  noted  other  astronomical  phenomena,  amongst  which  was  a  lunar 
eclipse  and  the  immersion  of  one  of  Jupiter's  satellites.  All  these  and  an  interesting  narrative  of 
the  expedition  were  made  known  to  the  scientific  world  by  Cassini.  The  preparations  of  Chappe 
had  been  methodical,  and  his  observations  were  made  with  scrupulous  exactness.  The  Spanish 
astronomers  pursued  their  operations  separately.  From  all  the  observations  the  geographical  posi 
tion  of  San  Joseph  proved  to  be  133°  3'  20"  N.  and  112°  2'  30"  west  of  Paris.  But  the  best  Mexican 
charts  of  that  time  varied  much  from  this  result,  differing  as  much  as  three  degrees  in  longitude 
and  more  than  a  degree  in  latitude. 


574  .     UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

According  to  calculations  resulting  from  the  observations  of  Chappe,  Western  America  was 
found  to  be  nearer  to  Europe  than  previous  estimates  by  about  four  degrees  of  longitude.  Tbe 
result  beoame  a  standard  for  all  subsequent  surveying  operations.  In  1793,  when  Vancouver  fin 
ished  his' survey  of  the  northwestern  coast,  he  repaired  to  Cape  San  Lucas  aud  the  vicinity  of 
Saint  Joseph,  in  order  to  compare. his  results  for  position  with  those  obtained  by  Chappe  in  17<i!>. 
While  the  last-named  observer  was  engaged  ou  the  peninsula  a  malignant  epidemic  raged.  He 
died  there,  as  did  several  of  his  companions — his  watchmaker  and  the  Spanish  astronomer,  Don 
Salvador  de  Medina.  In  fact,  the  entire  party  of  learned  men  assembled  near  Cape  Saint  Lucas 
became  seriously  ill.  Those  who  recovered  fled  from  the  fatal  shores,  regardless  of  intended 
explorations  for  the  benefit  of  geography  and  natural  history. 

The  British  Government  sent  out  Captain  Cook  in  the  year  1768,  accompanied  by  the 
astronomer  Green  and  naturalist  Solauder,  to  observe  the  transit  at  a  station  on  the  island  of 
Tahiti,  and  this  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  Pacific  voyages  which,  ten  years  later,  brought  Cook 
to  the  northwestern  coast  of  North  America. 

FRANCISCANS  AND  VANCOUVER,  1769-'9'2. 

Fear  of  the  progress  of  the  Russians  in  the  Pacific,  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  Cali 
fornia,  aifd  the  zeal  in  missionary  work  evinced  by  their  successors,  the  Franciscan  friars, 
awakened  activity  which  was  not  again  interrupted  until  the  coast  was  thoroughly  explored. 
Year  after  year  one  expedition  followed  another,  European  nations  concurring,  and  at  the  end  ot 
the  century  nearly  all  the  "  mysteries  of  the  west"  lay  open  before  the  world. 

Alarm  at  Russian  progress  had  drawn  the  Spaniards  to  the  northwest,  and  they  had  previously 
moved  northeast  (on  the  American  continent)  in  consequence  of  the  advances  of  the  French.  To 
check  these  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  the  Spanish  sent  expeditions  which  resulted  in  the 
settlement  of  western  Texas.  In  1762  they  acquired  from  France  the  cession  of  the  western  half 
of  the  Mississippi  country,  aud  detachments  of  Spanish  dragoons,  missionaries,  and  tradesmen 
from  New  Mexico  went  sometimes  as  far  north  as  the  fiftieth  parallel.  At  this  time  they  seemed 
willing  to  take  possession  of  a  continent  conferred  on  them  by  a  Papal  bull  at  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  But  this  was  merely  as  the  last  brightening  of  a  flame,  before  its  extinction. 

The  Marquis  de  Croix,  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  who,  in  1767,  ordered  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits 
from  California,  and  gave  their  missions  and  settlements  to  the  Franciscans,  directed  the  latter  to 
advance  towards  the  northwest.  Warmed  by  the  triumph  over  their  rivals,  the  Franciscan* 
manifested  great  zeal.  An  enterprise  was  planned  by  their  superior,  Joseph  de  Galvez,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  Viceroy,  who  was,  however,  succeeded  in  office  by  Don  Antonio  Maria  de 
Bucarrelli  in  1771,  a  man  not  less  active  in  promoting  geographical  exploration  aud  missions.  By 
the  exertions  of  these  men  was  carried  into  effect,  in  the  course  of  six  or  eight  years,  the  long 
desired  settlement,  cultivation,  and  exploration  of  what  the  Jesuits  had  called  the  "  Contra  Costa." 

The  history  of  the  labors  and  sufferings  of  the  Franciscan  friars  and  their  companions  is 
highly  interesting.  The  aims  and  results  at  which  they  arrived  served  an  important  end  in 
advancing  the  hydrography  of  the  coast.  Peaceful  and  comparatively  strong,  the  missions  became 
fulcrums  of  civilization  in  that  region  and  desirable  supports  for  subsequent  northwestern  v»yages. 

Spanish  explorers  returning  exhausted,  as  also  English,  French,  and  other  nationalities,  relied 
on  these  establishments.  Vancouver  would  probably  have  perished  but  for  the"  succor  afforded 
by  the  Franciscans  in  California,  and  the  Russians  relied  ou  them  for  provisions.  Agents  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  traveled  from  the  Columbia  River  for  supplies.  In  short,  these  missions 
were  the  basis  of  empire.  Without  them  the  United  States  would  have,  found  it  much  more  dim- 
cult  to  establish  government  in  that  part  of  its  territory.  All  American  travelers  in  the  begin 
ning  of  the  present  century  repaired  to  these  hospitable  settlements,  as  the  mariners,  the  Russians, 
and  the  Canadians  did,  asking  for  bread  and  for  succor  when  exhausted ;  and  many  doubtless  would 
have  perished  if  the  Franciscans  had  not  previously  dotted  the  coast  line  with  cultivated  patches, 
cattle,  peaceful  Indians,  and  homes.  It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  the  history  of  these  missions, 
but  our  main  interest  here  relates  to  the  land  and  sea  expeditions  by  which  they  were  established. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  575 

MISSIONS,  1769. 

It  was  concerted  between  the  Viceroy  and  the  Superior  of  the  Franciscan  convents  (Jose"  oe 
Galvez)  that  three  missions  should  be  founded,  one  at  San  Diego,  another  at  Monterey,  and  a  third 
midway  between  the  two,  both  of  which  had  been  pronounced  by  Vizcaino,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  earlier,  as  well  adapted  for  the  intended  purpose.  The  middle  station  was  called  San 
Buenaventura. 

Two  expeditions  were  to  be  sent  out  at  the  same  time,  one  from  the  peninsula,  by  land,  the 
other  by  sea  from  San  Bias.  Galvez  himself  superintended  the  arrangements  for  both.  The  land 
expedition  was  to  conduct  the  principal  missionaries  with  soldiers  and  cattle,  lay  out  a  road,  and 
begin  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  way.  This  was  under  command  of  Don 
Gaspar  de  Portola,  the  captain  of  dragoons,  who  had  been  charged  to  expel  the  Jesuits  from  Lower 
California.  He  was  supported  by  other  officers,  some  soldiers,  and  several  missionaries,  under  the 
supervision  of  Father  Junipero  Serra,  who  was  constituted  president  of  the  new  missions.  They 
set  out  in  two  divisions,  the  smaller  an  exploring  party  under  the  conduct  of  Don  Fernando  Rivera 
and  Moucada  going  in  advance.  The  principal  body,  commanded  by  Portola,  followed  on  the  15th 
of  May,  1769,  from  the  Mission  de  San  Fernando  en  Velicata,  the  most  northern  settlement  in 
Lower  California.  This  had  been  founded  only  a  short  time  before  their  departure.  The  track  of 
the  old  Jesuit  traveler,  Father  Wenceslp.us  Link,  was  followed  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Colo 
rado.  From  thence,  taking  a  northwesterly  direction,  they  arrived  on  the  1st  of  July,  1769,  after 
forty-six  days'  travel,  at  the  shore  of  a  bay  recognized  by  them  as  the  harbor  of  San  Diego,  according 
to  the  old  maps  and  charts,  and  there  they  found  the  sea  expedition  at  anchor. 

The  sea  expedition  was  intended  to  aid  that  on  land  by  carrying  out  more  soldiers,  provisions, 
and  implements.  They  were  also  to  survey,  or,  as  that  operation  was  then  expressed,  "register 
the  coast"  (a  tracer  el  registro  de  la  Costa).  For  this  purpose  three  ships  were  fitted  out  from 
San  Bias :  The  San  Carlos,  San  Antonio,  and  San  Joseph.  The  principal  vessel  carried  Don 
Vicente  Vila,  commander  in-chief  of  the  expedition,  and  the  second,  Capt.  Don  Juaz  Perez,  who 
was  afterwards  one  of  the  most  active  among  the  explorers  and  navigators  of  the  northwestern 
coast. 

The  three  ships  sailed  on  separate  days.  Perez,  in  the  San  Antonio,  arrived  at  San  Diego  Bay 
on  the  llth  of  April.  The  San  Carlos  started  more  than  a  mouth  earlier,  but  was  a  fortnight 
behind  the  San  Antonio,  the  captain  of  the  San  Carlos,  judging  from  "  the  indications  of  the  old 
maps"  that  the  port  of  San  Diego  was  between  33°  and  34°  of  latitude,  bnt  he  found  it  at  32°  40' 
He  lost,  therefore,  much  time,  and  did  not  discover  his  error  until  his  crew  was  much  wasted  by- 
sickness,  hunger,  and  fatigue.  Some  of  the  crew  died  on  this  voyage.  The  third  vessel  (San 
Joseph)  was  never  seen  or  heard  of  after  sailing.  The  members  of  the  two  expeditions  rejoiced  in 
being  united,  but  as  a  voyage  to  Monterey  was  out  of  the  question,  the  San  Antonio  was  manned, 
and  Juan  Perez  sailed  in  that  vessel  on  the  9th  of  July  from  San  Diego  southward  to  procure 
provisions  and  hands. 

When  the  ships  were  found  unavailable,  and  the  San  Antonio  had  sailed  homeward,  Portola 
determined  to  inarch  northward,  moving  on  the  14th  of  July,  1769,  in  search  of  Monterey.  Part 
of  the  company  was  left  at  San  Diego  with  Father  Junipero  Serra  to  form  the  intended  settlement 
and  mission  and  to  negotiate  with  the  surrounding  Indians.  He  started  with  some  soldiers  and 
missionaries,  including  Friar  Juan  Crespi,  the  journalist  of  this  and  other  Franciscan  expeditions, 
and  traveled  slowly  along  the  coast,  accompanied  by  a  train  of  mules  and  many  friendly  Indians. 
Passing  the  Sierra  of  Santa  Lucia,  they  came  in  sight  of  the  harbor  of  Monterey  on  the  1st  of 
October.  Men  were  sent  to  reconnoiter  the  bay,  but  could  find  nothing  answering  the  description 
of  the  port  of  Monterey  as  given  by  the  pilot,  Cabrero  Bueno,  which  was  their  only  guide.  The 
open  bay  they  thought  could  scarcely  be  called  a  "port,"  and  if  Monterey  was  to  be  found  they 
must  look  for  it  farther  north.  Portola  was  very  anxious,  as  he  hoped  to  find  there  the  San  Joseph, 
of  the  loss  of  which  vessel  he  was  yet  ignorant.  He  therefore  continued  his  march  northward, 
though  many  of  his  followers  were  sick  with  scurvy;  and  thus  "they  turned  their  backs  on  the 
very  port  they  were  in  search  of." 


576  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.     » 

On  the  last  day  of  October  they  were  within  sight  of  the  Farallones  off  San  Francisco  entrance, 
"  the  signs  of  which,  being  compared  with  the  remarks  of  the  pilot,  Cabrero  Bueno,  were  found  to 
be  exact."  They  were  then  convinced  that  they  had  left  Monterey  to  southward,  and  on  the  llth 
of  November  they  turned  in  that  direction  and  reached  the  bay,  some  of  the  party  now  believ 
ing  it  to  be  Monterey.  There  they  remained  until  the  10th  of  December,  waiting  for  the  San 
Joseph,  but  no  vessel  arrived.  The  Sierra  of  Santa  Lucia  was  already  covered  with  snow,  and 
Portola  kept  on  towards  the  south.  If  seems  probable  that  once  during  this  expedition  the  party 
was  on  the  shore  of  the  harbor  but  could  not  identify  the  place.  They  arrived  at  San  Diego  on 
the  24th  of  January,  1770,  after  more  than  six  months  of  travel  and  trouble,  having  been  driven 
by  hunger  to  eat  their  mules  and  horses  on  the  way.  Some  of  the  party  reported  that  the  harbor 
of  Monterey  had  probably  been  changed  since  the  time  of  Vizcaino,  as  the  spot  so  named  on  his 
map  had  been  found  filled  with  sand  hills. 

The  ship  San  Antonio  returned,  as  before  related,  to  Mexico,  and  reached  San  Bias  towards 
the  end  of  July,  1769.  from  thence  it  was  again  dispatched,  under  command  of  Juan  Perez,  early 
in  the  year  1770,  with  provisions  to  Monterey,  where  it  was  supposed  the  land  expedition  had 
meanwhile  arrived.  But  on  touching  at  a  point  on  the  Santa  Barbara  channel  to  procure  fresh 
water,  Perez  was  told  by  the  Indians  that  the  expedition  had  gone  back  to  San  Diego,  and 
having  lost  an  anchor  which  he  hoped  might  be  replaced  there,  he  was  induced  to  steer  for  that 
harbor,  and  reached  it  on  the  23d  of  March,  barely  in  time  to  save  the  enterprise,  as  Portola  and  his 
party,  destitute  of  any  means  of  subsistence,  had  fixed  upon  that  very  day  to  go  south  and  abandon 
the  attempt  at  settlement. 

When  the  two  branches  of  the  expedition  united  at  San  Diego  with  replenished  means  they 
agreed  to  set  out  again  for  Monterey.  Perez  sailed  in  the  San  Antonio  on  the  16th  of  April,  1770, 
accompanied  by  Father  Junipero  Serra.  They  were  forced  back  by  storms  to  the  thirtieth  parallel, 
where  they  found  more  favorable  winds,  and  after  six  weeks  of  tedious  navigation  they  entered 
Monterey  on  the  31st  of  May,  being  as  far  as  we  know  the  first  Europeans  who  did  so  in  a  period 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  years  which  elapsed  after  the  visit  of  Vizcaino. 

Portola  and  his  party,  including  Father  Crespi,  the  journalist  of  the  expedition,  left  San  Diego 
the  day  after  the  San  Antonio  sailed.  They  reached  Monterey,  where  the  vessel  awaited  them, 
and  the  reunited  missionaries  founded  there  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  de  Monterey,  or  the  Royal 
Fort  of  San  Carlos.  Names  were  given  at  this  time  to  some  small  rivers,  valleys,  and  other 
places,  but  they  are  not  all  mentioned  in  the  narrative  of  the  expedition. 

Early  in  August,  1770,  the  action  at  Monterey  became  known  in  Mexico,  and  the  joy  of  the 
authorities  there  was  such  that  they  ordered  a  general  ringing  of  the  bells  and  a  great  festival. 
Mass  was  celebrated  and  a  procession  formed  in  which  the  Viceroy  and  all  the  tribunals  joined. 
A  proclamation  was  printed  and  distributed,  giving  a  short  description  of  the  travels  and  dis 
coveries  of  Portola  and  the  missionaries,  and  announcing  that  the  dominions  of  the  King  of  Spain 
had  been  extended  300  leagues  along  the  coast  towards  the  north. 

Perez  had  sailed  from  Monterey  in  the  San  Antonio  on  the  9th  of  July,  1770,  to  return  to 
Mexico  and  bring  from  thence  provisions.  On  reaching  San  Bias  he  gave  intelligence  of  the 
proceedings  at  Monterey.  From  San  Bias  he  was  again  sent,  early  in  the  year  1771,  to  Monterey, 
and  there  arrived  with  ten  other  missionaries  on  the  14th  of  April.  On  the  7th  of  July,  1771, 
he  went  to  San  Diego  with  dispatches,  and  from  that  place  returned  to  San  Bias  with  invalid 
missionaries. 

Father  Junipero  Serra  occupied  the  time  after  his  arrival  at  Monterey  by  making  excursions 
into  the  adjacent  country,  visiting  Indian  tribes,  and  seeking  convenient  sites  for  missions.  Every 
mission  thus  founded  was  combined  with  previous  explorations,  and  served  also  for  extending 
geographical  knowledge.  Serra  explored  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Carmelo  near  Monterey,  and  trans 
ferred  to  that  valley  his  mission  of  San  Carlos,  the  first  position  of  which  was  further  northeast. 
With  other  friars  he  visited  the  Sierra  de  Santa  Lucia,  and  there  settled  the  mission  of  San 
Antonio  de  Padua.  He  celebrated  mass  on  the  14th  of  July,  the  day  of  San  Buenaventura. 

The  mission  of  San  Gabriel  was  established  at  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1771. 

Having  somewhat  advanced  towards  the  south  the  chain  of  missions  and  settlements  by  which 
he  intended  to  connect  Mexico  and  Upper  California,  Father  Junipero  turned  his  attention  to  the 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  577 

north.  An  expedition  in  that  direction  was  agreed  upon  with  the  military  commander  Don  Pedro 
Fages,who  with  some  soldiers  and  the  friar  Crespi  started  from  Monterey  on  the  20th  of  March,  1772. 
The  latter  wrote  a  journal  of  the  expedition  which  shows  that  the  enterprise  was  very  unfortu 
nate.  Tart  of  the  country  was  surveyed,  or  "registered,"  when  the  work  was  interrupted  by  a 
report  from  San  Diego  of  famine  and  sickness,  and  the  contemplated  abandonment  of  that  port. 
The  party  consequently  returned  as  soon  as  possible. 

After  returning  with  the  invalids  to  San  Bias  at  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1771,  Perez  was 
again  employed,  early  in  the  following  year,  to  carry  provisions  to  Monterey  ;  but  the  bad  condi 
tion  of  his  ships  and  unfavorable  weather  made  it  impossible  to  attempt  the  passage  around  Point 
Conception.  Instead,  therefore,  of  making  bis  destined  port  he  carried  the  provisions  to  San  Diego, 
which  settlement,  on  the  brink  of  ruin,  was  thus  saved  by  him  a  second  time.  Information  was 
sent  to  Father  Serra  in  Monterey  of  the  arrival  of  these  supplies,  and  a  request  that  they  should 
be  sent  for  by  land,  because  of  the  difficulty  and  danger  of  water  transportation;  but  the  father, 
though  now  old  and  somewhat  infirm,  journeyed  in  person  to  the  latter  place  and  persuaded  Perez 
to  trust  in  God,  notwithstanding  the  bad  season,  and  attempt  once  more  the  voyage  to  Monterey, 
as  the  station  must  be  abandoned  unless  the  much  needed  provisions  should  soon  arrive.  Yielding 
to  the  pro  i.ptings  of  Serra's  faith  and  zeal,  Perez  again  set  sail,  arrived  in  safety,  and  after  laud 
ing  his  cnrgo  returned  to  San  Bias. 

In  1772  Father  Junipero  founded  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo  de  Tolosa  at  the  south  of 
Monterey  ;  and  after  visiting  the  other  missions  resolved  to  retu  n  to  Mexico  for  conference  with 
the  new  Viceroy,  Don  Antonio  Maria  de  Bucarelli,  who  had  succeeded  the  Marquis  de  Croix,  the 
former  patron  of  Serra's  enterprise,  and  who  was  supposed  to  be  unacquainted  with  the  importance 
of  western  missions  and  explorations.  Junipero  explained  to  the  Viceroy  the  political  importance  of 
the  missions,  found  ready  audience,  and  procured  all  the  aid  desired. 

Perez  was  sent  out  again  with  supplies,  but  his  voyage  was  unfortunate.  Driven  by  storms 
to  the  peninsula  he  was  constrained  to  unload  his  vessels,  and  the  friars  and  soldiers  dependent 
on  him  for  supplies  elsewhere  suffered  greatly  from  hunger. 

DON  JUAN  BAUTISTA  ANZA.    1774. 

At  the  request  of  Father  Junipero,  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  had  also  sent  an  order  to  the  com 
mander  of  the  northern  frontier  of  Sonora  to  fit  out  an  expedition  for  Monterey,  and  to  trace  an 
overland  route  in  that  direction,  so  that  missions  might  not  be  entirely  dependent  on  weather, 
communication  with  Mexico  up  to  that  time  having  been  either  by  sea,  around  Cape  San  Lucas, or 
half  way  by  land  to  Velicata  and  San  Loretto  in  Lower  California,  and  from  thence  by  water. 

Anza  traveled  with  soldiers,  cattle,  mules,  and  provisions  from  Sonora  to  the  Bio  Colorado, 
crossed  that  river  and  went  through  the  country  to  the  coast,  and  thence  to  Monterey.  He 
arrived  in  April,  1774,  having  on  the  way  traced  out  a  new  land  route  between  California  and 
New  Mexico  through  Sonora. 

Partly  at  the  suggestion  of  Father  Junipero,  the  Viceroy  was  induced  to  furnish  a  larger  expe 
dition.  The  Santiago,  a  new  ship,  was  fitted  out  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Juan  Perez, 
bound  to  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  from  whence  the  captain  was  to  proceed  to  higher  latitudes. 
In  this  ship,  which  sailed  from  San  Bias  on  the  24th  of  January,  1774,  Father  Junipero  returned 
to  his  mission.  Landing  at  San  Diego  he  traveled  to  Monterey,  and  arrived  there  on  the  9th  of 
May.  On  the  road  he  met  Auza,  who  was  then  on  his  return  from  Sonora.  Perez  also  touched  at 
Monterey  and  discharged  supplies  before  going  further  north.  His  voyage  to  Nootka  Sound  was 
undertaken  at  the  suggestion  of  Father  Junipero  Serra,  and  Perez  was  accompanied  on  it  by  two 
Franciscan  friars,  namely,  Juan  Crespi  and  Tomas  de  la  Pefia,  so  it  may  be  considered  as  a  branch 
of  the  Franciscan  expeditious.  Crespi  and  Peila  .jointly  wrote  an  account,  but  no  statement  was 
ever  made  public  by  the  Spanish  Government.  The  particulars  remained  unknown  during  the 
last  century.  Some  vague  reports  induced  the  insertion  of  the  following  remarks  on  maps:  "  The 
Spaniards  are  said  to  have  made  in  1774  an  expedition  as  far  as  55°  N.  L."  Navarrete  was  the 
first  who  gave  additional  information  in  regard  to  this  undertaking.  The  journal  of  Crespi  and 
H.  Ex.  43 73 


578  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

PeSa  was  made  known  to  Humboldt  in  Mexico,  and  is  mentioned  in  his  Essai  Politique,  second 
edition,  Paris,  1827,  Vol.  II,  p.  296. 

The  founding  of  missions  at  San  Diego  and  Monterey  not  only  occasioned  voyages,  but  con 
tributed  to  their  success.  Mariners  for  such  service  were  trained  by  associating  with  intelligent 
men,  and  the  officers  who  commanded  transports  and  provision  ships  also  conducted  explorations 
in  the  northern  regions. 

Perez  after  discharging  his  cargo  at  Monterey  fitted  his  vessel  for  duty  in  high  latitudes,  and 
set  sail  for  the  north  on  the  Cth  of  June.  He  seems  to  have  taken  at  the  outset  a  western  course 
into  the  Pacific,  but  turned  northward  and  again  saw  land  in  53°  53'  north  latitude,  which,  if  the 
reckoning  was  true,  must  have  been  part  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  At  54i°  north  he  reached 
a  cape  and  an  island,  and  to  the  last  applied  the  name  Santa  Margarita. 

What  is  known  as  Dixon's  Strait  was  at  a  much  earlier  date  called  by  Spaniards  "  .Kntrmla  de 
Juan  Perez." 

On  his  way  southward  Perez  saw  various  parts  of  the  western  coast,  but  his  principal  dis 
covery  was  the  harbor  of  San  Lorenzo,  in  latitude  49°  30'  N.,  afterwards  visited  by  Captain  Cook 
and  by  him  named  Nootka  Sound.  Perez  had  some  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  Cook  found 
traces  in  sundry  articles  of  Spanish  origin  when  he  subsequently  visited  the  place.  The  Span 
iards  doubtless  saw  some  points  of  Vancouver's  Island,  and  some  writers  suppose  that  at  this  time 
the  entrance  to  De  Fuca's  Strait  was  first  observed.  What  is  now  known  as  Cape  Flatter}/  was 
called  formerly  Puuta  Martinez,  after  the  pilot  of  the  San  Antonio,  whose  name  was  Estavan  Jose' 
Martinez.  On  his  way  south  Perez  determined  the  latitude  of  Cape  Mendocino,  and  arrived  at 
Monterey  on  the  17th  of  August,  1774.  He  was  soon  afterwards  again  at  San  Bias. 

This  voyage  may  be  considered  fortunate,  Queen  Charlotte's  and  Vancouver's  Islands  being 
then  for  the  first  time  touched  on  by  Europeans.  The  Spanish  Government  kept  long  concealed 
the  accounts  and  maps  furnished  by  Perez,  and  subsequently  English  navigators  were  considered 
as  discoverers  of  the  places. 

In  the  summer  of  1774  Father  Junipero  Serra  and  the  lately  appointed  military  commander, 
Don  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada,  started  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  mission  on  the  shores  of 
the  Santa  Barbara  Channel.  It  was  to  be  called  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and  to  be  in  charge  of  the 
Fathers  Feronin  Lazuen  and  Gregorio  Amurrio,  who  were  sent  out  at  the  end  of  October  to  ex 
plore  the  country.  They  selected  a  convenient  spot  and  founded  the  mission,  the  name  of  which 
is  still  retained  by  a  little  port  on  the  coast.  The  completion  of  the  establishment  was,  however, 
delayed  by  an  Indian  revolt  which  broke  out  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Diego.  This  prevented 
further  attempts  for  the  settlement  of  missions  by  Father  Junipero  through  the  following  year, 
1775. 

SONORA— SAN  DIEGO.     1775. 

A  journey  was  made  in  1775  by  a  Carmelite  friar,  Francisco  Garces,  and  thereby  another  way 
of  communication  was  opened  towards  the  interior.  Father  Garces  traveled  from  Sonora  through 
the  Colorado  country,  saw  the  southern  end  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  discovered  in  the  interior 
of  California,  a  river  which  he  called  Rio  de  San  Felipe  (perhaps  the  upper  part,  of  the  San  Joa- 
quin),  and  passing  on  to  San  Diego  he  returned  from  thence  to  Sonora.  Several  journeys  were 
made  by  the  friar.  This  mention  of  his  California  excursion  is  in  accordance  with  a  map  made 
by  M.  Mascaro,  and  in  1782  published  in  Arispe.  The  map  lias  on  it  the  route  of  Garces,  as  well 
as  that  of  Don  Juan  Bautiste  de  Anza.  This  last-named  traveler,  after  returning  to  Mexico, 
made  in  1775  a  second  journey  to  California,  taking  witli  him  soldiers  and  settlers,  horses,  mules, 
and  cattle.  On  the  29th  of  September  he  set  out  from  the  Presidio  San  Miguel,  in  Sonora,  and 
arrived  at  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel  on  the  4th  of  January,  1770. 

NORTHWESTERN  COAST,  1775. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  Perez,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  Don  Antonio  de  Bncarelliy  Orsue. 
animated  by  this  first  success,  ordered  the  fitting  out  of  two  vessels,  the  Santiago  and  the  Sonora, 
for  another  expedition,  which  was  put  under  command  of  Don  Bruno  de  Heceta.  lie  sailed  in  the 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC!  SURVEY.  579 

first  named  ship,  and  for  the  command  of  the  second  assigned  Don  Juan  de  Ayala,  assisted  by  Don 
Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega  y  Qiuulra.  Antonio  Manrelle  served  as  pilot  and  afterwards  wrote 
an  account  of  the  expedition.  Perez,  who  conducted  the  enterprise  of  1774,  as  also  some  others, 
lost  his  lift-  in  this  undertaking.  Both  of  the  ships  sailed  from  San  Bias  on  the  ICth  of  March,  1775, 
\\  itli  orders  to  proceed  along  the  northwest  coast  as  far  as  the  sixty -filth  parallel  if  possible.  On 
the  first  part  of  the  voyage  they  were  accompanied  by  the  packet  San  Carlos,  which  vessel  was 
bound  to  Monterey  and  San  Francisco  in  charge  of  Don  Miguel  Maurique.  But  unfortunately 
that  officer  was  seized  with  insanity  a  short  time  after  he  left  San  Bias.  The  command  of  his  vessel 
was  given  to  Ayala,  and  Bodega  took  the  place  of  the  latter  in  the  Sonora.  Thus  Bodega  became 
prominent  in  the  expedition.  Ayala,  by  taking  the  San  Carlos  into  Monterey  and  Sari  Francisco, 
t\vas  separated  from  it,  and  at  that  time  made  the  first  survey  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco. 

After  separating  from  the  San  Carlos,  the  two  remaining  ships  sailed  to  the  northwest  and  had 
on  board  for  information  the  history  of  California,  by  Venegas ;  also  a  map  of  the  French  geographer, 
Bellin,  which  "was  found  very  unreliable  and  fanciful."  They  had  also  the  chart  made  by  their 
predecessor,  Pere/,  who  accompanied  them  on  this  voyage. 

On  the  coast  north  of  Mendocino  they  found  a  small  harbor  in  41°  07'  north  latitude,  which 
they  entered  on  the  5th  of  June.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  they  surveyed  the  harbor,  and  erected 
a  cross  on  the  shore,  and  named  the  harbor  Holy  Trinity.  A  river  emptying  into  it  was  called 
by  them  Kio  de  las  Tortolas,  or  Pigeon  River,  from  the  large  flocks  of  those  birds  seen  there. 

They  sailed  further  north,  looking  as  they  went  for  the  inlet  marked  on  their  map  asDe  Fuca's 
Strait,  and  reached  the  coast  in  latitude  47°  24'  north,  where  a  party  from  the  crew  of  the  Souora 
was  sent  on  .shore  for  fresh  water.  They  were  attacked  by  the  natives,  and  seven  of  the  crew  were 
killed.  The  savages  appeared  to  be  numerous;  the  lauding  was  difficult;  hence  the  murder  was 
not  avenged,  and  keeping  on  to  the  northwest  the  unfortunate  spot  was  named  Isla  de  Dotores. 
On  some  Spanish  maps  the  place  is  marked  as  Ensenda  de  los  Martires  (Inlet  of  the  Martyrs); 
and  is  probably  the  locality  afterwards  and  even  yet  called  Destruction  Island. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  and  when  in  about  50  degrees  north  latitude,  the  ships  separated  in  very 
thick  weather.  After  seeking  each  other  in  vain,  Bodega  and  Maurelle,  in  the  Sonora,  resolved  to  sail 
northward,  but  Heceta,  in  the  Santiago,  despairing  of  success,  turned  back  to  the  southward. 

In  latitude  57°  04'  north,  Bodega  saw  a  high  mountain,  and  named  it  San  Jacinto.  The  same 
was  afterwards  called  by  Captain  Cook  Mount  Edgecombe.  lu  latitude  55°  30'  north  a  spacious 
bay  was  named,  in  honor  of  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  Port  Bucarelli.  Other  localities  were  at  this 
time  named  by  the  Spanish  explorers  in  this  neighborhood,  but  they  are  now  of  no  special  interest. 
The  highest  latitude  reached  by  Bodega  was  58  degrees  north.  There  his  means  were  exhausred 
and  he  turned  southward.  On  the  19th  of  September  he  was  again  in  sight  of  the  coast  of  California , 
iu  latitude  47  degrees  north.  Keeping  on  southward  he  reached  an  entrance  in  latitude  38°  18' 
north,  and  supposed  it  to  be  San  Francisco,  but  the  great  sea-mark,  the  Farallones,  not  being  in 
view,  his  error  became  apparent  to  all  in  the  party.  A  cape  north  of  the  port  before  him  was 
called  Punta  de  Arenas,  and  to  the  port  itself  was  given  the  name  Puerto  de  Bodega.  It  was  now 
the  4th  of  October,  and  without  entering  at  the  Golden  Gate,  he  passed  on  to  Monterey. 

The  most  interesting  event  of  the  expedition  occurred  on  the  return  voyage.  On  the  16th  of 
August  Heceta  saw  the  month  of  the  Columbia  River,  but  was  unable  to  enter.  Supposing  it  to 
be  the  mouth  of  some  large  river  or  strait*  he  called  it  the  Bay  of  Assumption.  On  later  maps  it 
is  named  Entrada  de  Heceta,  but  on  some  Kio  de  San  Roque,  from  the  promontory  north  of  it,  to 
which  Heceta  had  given  the  uame  San  Roquc.  Both  names  are  from  the  church  calendar,  that  of 
the  Assumption  on  the  15th  of  August  and  San  Roque's  the  next  day. 

Heceta  called  the  south  cape  of  the  inlet  Cabo  Frondoso,  or  Leafy  Cape;  but  at  this  day  it  is 
known  as  Point  Adams.  He  thought  the  opening  might,  be  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuea.  South 
ward  of  this  he  saw  another  headland,  and  named  it  Cab')  Falcon  (now  Cape  Lookout),  and 
continuing  his  course  Heceta  reached  Monterey  on  the  30th  of  August.  On  the  7th  of  October  he 
was  joined  there  by  the  Sonora,  and  on  the  20th  of  November  both  ships  again  anchored  in  the 
harbor  of  San  Bias. 


580  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC!  SURVEY. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY,  1775. 

The  packet  ship  San  Carlos,  in  charge  of  Don  Juan  de  Ayala,  a  commander  of  the  Koyal 
Spanish  Navy,  after  leaving  provisions  at  Monterey  for  the  uses  of  the  missionaries,  was  directed 
to  make  a  survey  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  for  the  convenience  of  other  missions  that  by  order 
of  the  Viceroy  were  soon  to  be  founded. 

Ayala  arrived  at  Monterey  on  the  27th  of  June.  1775,  discharged  his  cargo,  and  sailed  promptly 
to  determine  (says  Father  Pal  n)  "whether  the  canal  which  had  been  imperfectly  seen  from  a 
distance  by  the  former  land  expedition  was  really  an  outlet  to  the  sea  or  not."  Nine  days  after 
leaving  Monterey  he  found  the  outlet  of  the  canal,  which  he  called  the  Inlet  of  the  Farallones ;  and 
the  San  Carlos  passed  safely  through  in  the  night.  Thus,  as  far  as  can  be  now  known,  Ayahi  was 
the  first  European  who  entered  San  Francisco  Bay.  Perez  in  the  preceding  year  had  passed  l>y, ' 
and  the  Franciscan  friars  on  their  land  expedition,  in  17C9  and  1772,  had  merely  seen  the  interior 
basin  from  the  land  side.  Ayala  reported  the  inlet  of  the  Faralloues  as  being  "  a  Spanish  league 
long  and  a  quarter  of  a  league  broad,  with  strong  currents  issuing  or  entering,  according  to  low 
or  high  water;  and  behind  it  a  little  Mediterranean  Sea  with  two  arms,  one  stretching  15  leagues 
to  the  southward,  and  the  other  5  leagues  to  the  north  ;  and,  again,  beyond  this  he  discovered  the. 
great  bay  10  leagues  broad,  and  another  bay  of  a  round  h'gure  [San  Pablo  Bay],  into  which 
empties  the  great  Rio  de  Nuestro  Padre  San  Francisco;  "  i.  e.,  the  Sacramento  River.  Doubtless 
Karquines  Strait  was  mistaken  for  the  mouth  of  the  Sacramento.  He  remained  in  the  bay  forty 
days  exploring  in  a  boat,  and  "registering"  the  large  sheet  of  water.  The  Indians  on  shore 
seemed  to  be  friendly. 

After  completing  his  "plan  "  of  the  bay,  the  entrance  of  which,  according  to  his  determination, 
was  a  few  minutes  below  the  35th  parallel.  Ayala  returned  to  Monterey,  and  reached  port  in  the 
middle  of  September,  1775.  Being  asked  whether  the  place  visited  was  a  good  port,  he  replied 
that  "  it  was  not  a  port,  but  a  cluster  of  ports,"  and  that  "  many  fleets  could  anchor  there  without 
seeing  each  other." 

Ayala  reported  his  researches  to  the  Viceroy,  and  presented  his  map.  As  a  result,  great  in 
terest  was  awakened  in  Mexico,  and  activity  in  regard  to  settlements  near  a  port  having  such  man 
ifest  advantages. 

Although  this  exploration  by  Ayala  was  one  of  the  most  important  hydrographies  achievements 
of  the  time,  it  was  strangely  overlooked  by  later  historians.  Navarrete  does  not  mention  it  at  all 
in  reference  to  results,  but  merely  says,  "Ayala  was  the  commander  of  the  ship  Felicidad  (Sonora) 
and  went  with  Heceta  and  Bodega  to  the  north."  Some  writers  record  him  as  commander  of  that 
expedition.  Greenhow  corrects  that  error  and  states  that  Ayala  had  no  concern  with  the  northern 
expedition  of  Heceta  and  Bodega,  having  merely  accompanied  those  explorers  "  a  short  distance 
from  San  Bias."  But  the  last  named  writer  does  not  mention  the  useful  survey  made  by  Ayala, 
which  has  been,  as  stated  above,  missed  in  the  researches  of  historians  generally. 

The  first  land  expedition  from  the  south,  which  reached  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  started  from 
San  Diego  in  1769-'70.  The  second  was  undertaken  in  the  following  year,  and  proceeded  from 
Monterey  for  the  exploration  of  that  body  of  water.  The  third  expedition  proceeded  from  the  same 
place,. and  was  conducted  by  Don  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  who  had  made  the  journeys  from  Sonora 
to  California. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1776,  Anza  brought  to  Monterey  the  special  order  and  instruction  of 
the  Viceroy  for  a  survey  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  with  a  view  of  selecting  the  best  sites  for  two 
missions,  namely,  one  for  San  Francisco,  and  one  at  Santa  Clara.  In  the  following  spring  the  ser 
vice  was  perfoimed.  With  the  help  of  another  officer  and  some  soldiers  a  map  was  made  from  t In 
land  side,  and  positions  were  selected  for  the  Presidio  and  missions.  The  party  then  returned  to 
Mexico  and  reported  to  the  Viceroy. 

After  his  survey  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  Ayala  returned  in  the  San  Carlos  and  arrived  in 
Mexico  at  the  end  of  the  year  1775.  Early  in  the  following  year  the  ship  was  dispatched  to  Mon 
terey  with  provisions,  and  with  it  orders  were  sent  for  assisting  in  the  foundation  of  the  new  mis 
sions.  On  the  voyage  the  San  Carlos  was  commanded  by  Don  Fernando  de  Quiros,  and  arrived  at 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  581 

Monterey  esrly  in  June,  1776,  when  Anza  had  just  returned  from  his  land  expedition  to  the  bay  of 
San  Francisco. 

The  land  expedition,  under  command  of  Captain  Don  Josef  Mora .ga,  set  out  from  Monterey 
on  the  17th  of  June,  accompanied  by  some  Spanish  families,  soldiers,  Indians,  and  cattle.  The 
principal  missionaries  assigned  to  conduct  the  religions  affairs  of  this  northern  station  were,  Father 
Thomas  de  la  Pen  a,  some  of  whose  journals  of  the  Franciscan  expeditions  are  yet  extant ;  Father 
Francisco  Palon,  who  wrote  a  history  of  the  missions;  and  the  Father  Pedro  Benito  Cambon. 
Some  of  the  missionaries  went  with  the  land  expedition,  which  icached  its  destination  after  a  few 
weeks  of  travel,  without  any  special  difficulties.  Others  sailed  in  the  San  Carlos  and  were  months 
on  the  voyage.  By  contrary  winds  the  ship  was  driven  back  southward  to  the  thirty-second  par 
allel,  and  did  not  reach  San  Francisco  until  the  18th  of  August. 

The  parties  began  at  once  to  build  houses,  magazines,  forts,  and  chapels,  and  when  the  work 
was  partly  accomplished  the  commander  of  the  San  Carlos  went  out  in  a  boat  to  explore  the  bay. 
He  was  on  that  occasion  accompanied  by  Father  Cambon.  A  small  company  was  at  the  same 
time  sent  under  command  of  Don  Josef  Moraga  to  walk  around  the  bay,  assist  the  boat  party, 
and  unite  with  it  in  the  northeast  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

On  this  occasion  most  of  the  points  on  San  Francisco  Bay  received  the  names  by  which  they 
are  still  known,  as  "San  Pablo  Bay,"  "Point  San  Pablo,"  "Point  San  Pedro,"  &c.,  but  only  a  few 
are  specially  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  expedition,  and  it  is  likely  that  they  were  named  by 
Ayala.  He  was  not,  as  Quiros  was,  attended  by  missionaries  who  would  give  religious  names 
to  places. 

The  land  expedition  went  first  to  the  southeast,  passing  around  the  shallow  lagoon  in  which 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco  terminates.  At  the  southern  end  they  found  a  river  and  called  it  "  Rio 
de  Notra  Senora  de  Gnadalupe."  From  thence  going  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lagoon  until 
opposite  to  the  harbor  of  Sau  Francisco  on  the  "Contra  Costa,"  they  saw  in  the  mountains  to  the 
east  an  opening  or  valley  which  they  thought  might  prove  to  be,  a  short  route  to  the  point  of 
rendezvous  with  the  sea  expedition,  the  mouth  of  the  Sacramento  River.  In  this,  however,  they 
were  deceived.  Losing  their  way,  the  party  passed  the  mountains  and  came  out  upon  a  marshy 
plain  crossed  by  several  rivers,  or  river  branches,  and  after  traveling  a  short  distance  along  what 
seemed  to  be  the  principal  stream,  they  crossed  it  and  marched  northeast.  But  the  plain  seemed 
endless.  They  saw  no  inhabitants,  and  the  heat  was  intense.  The  time  for  meeting  the  sea 
expedition  passed  by,  and  Moraga  determined  to  return  home.  He  thought  that  all  the  streams 
came  from  the  southeast,  and  that  their  source  was  in  the  great  "Tulares"  (bnllrush  marshes)  lying 
in  that  direction.  It  was  the  river  Joachiu  along  the  lower  reach  of  which  they  wandered — 
I  lie  first  Europeans  who  saw  its  waters. 

Captain  Moraga  and  his  company,  on  reaching  the  mission,  gave  an  account  of  their  journey. 
The  boat  party  under  Quiros  advanced  meanwhile  to  the  northern  part  of  the  bay.  They  explored 
Sau  Pablo  Bay  and  entered  the  Strait  of  Karquines,  which  (as  did  also  Ayala)  they  mistook  for 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Sacramento,  and  called  it  El  Desembogue  del  Rio  Grande.  After  it 
turned  toward  the  east  they  found  a  port  which  had  not  been  seen  by  Ayala.  The  same  is  now 
called  Suisun  Bay. 

Father  Palon,  a  witness  of  some  of  these  events  and  the  only  historian  who  records  them, 
does  not  say  that  the  mouth  of  the  Sacramento  was  reached  on  this  occasion,  or  that  a  name  was 
given  to  it.  We  may  suppose  that  the  party  advanced  as  far  as  the  junction  of  the  Sacramento 
and  San  Joachin,  or  to  what  is  now  known  as  Sacramento  Point.  At  this  point  the  missionary, 
Father  Cambon,  "consecrated  the  waters,1'  and  the  administration  of  the  sacrameut  there 
suggested  the  name  which  was  afterward  applied  to  the  river  itself.  On  the  map  of  San 
Francisco  Bay,  drawn  at  the  time,  the  junction  of  the  rivers,  and  also  Sacramento  Point,  are 
accurately  delineated,  but  no  name  is  attached.  Quiros  explored  the  northern  part  of  San  Pablo 
Bay.  On  entering,  he  saw  several  small  inlets  and  creeks,  the  largest  of  which  he  supposed 
might  communicate  with  the  ocean,  but  soon  found  "without  any  doubt"  that  the  bay  of  Sau 
Francisco  had  only  one  outlet,  and  that  the  land  on  each  side  of  the  entrance  formed  peninsulas. 

Qniros,  in  the  San  Carlos,  returned  to  San  Bias  to  report  to  the  Viceroy,  leaving  Moraga  and 
the  missionaries  to  take  care  of  themselves,  construct  their  houses,  till  the  ground,  and  civilize 


582  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

the    Indians.     After  this  time   Fernando    Quires  .served   as  an  officer  in    the   expedition    under 
Arteago  and  Bodega  in  177!),  and  was  with  them  again  in  San  Francisco  Hay. 

SANTA  CLARA  MISSION,  177fi. 

The  successor  of  Portala  in  the  military  command  of  California  was  Don  Pedro  Fages. 
When  that  officer  retired,  in  1774,  his  place  was  tilled  by  Don  Fernando  de  Rivera  Moncada,  who, 
although  concerned  in  plans  for  exploration,  had  not  previously  taken  an  active  part  for 
settlement  and  further  discovery. 

In  the  an  I  mmi  of  1776  Rivera  set  out  at  the  head  of  some  troops  to  "register"  the  region  in 
which  it  was  desirable  to  found  another  mission,  and  marching  north  from  Monterey  across  the 
plains  of  San  Bernardino,  he  reached  the  southern  end  of  the  lagoon  of  San  Francisco  Bay  at  the 
river  Guadalnpe.  The  adjacent  country  was  mapped  by  the  party,  and  a  site  then  selected  for  the 
mission  was  settled  in  January,  1777.  On  the  same  plain  the  Spanish  village  called  El  Pueblo  de 
San  Joseph  de  Guadalnpe  was  founded,  and  names  were  assigned  for  the  neighboring  mountains 
and  streams  of  water.  In  the  following  summer  Don  Felipe  Neve  became  Governor  of  California, 
and  founded  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara. 

1779. 

The  expedition  of  Heceta  and  Quadra  in  the  year  1775  was  considered  successful,  but  it  left 
some  questions  undecided,  and  amongst  them  the  extent  of  the  Russian  settlements. 

Bucarelli,  Viceroy  of  Mexico  and  the  court  at  Madrid,  consequently  decided  upon  another 
expedition,  and  two  corvettes,  La  Priucesa  and  La  Favorita,  were  selected  for  the  purpose.  After 
much  delay  they  sailed  on  the  llth  of  February,  1779.  The  command  was  given  to  Don  Iguacio 
Arteaga,  and  Don  Juan  de  la  Bodega  y  Quadra.  In  the  expedition  of  1775  the  last-named  officer 
had  command  of  a  ship. 

Sailing  northward,  the  expedition  of  1779  reached  the  latitude  of  Mount  Saint  Elias,  after 
having  made  many  observations  along  the  coast  between  the  fifty-sixth  and  the  sixtieth  parallels. 
Provided  with  Russian  maps  they  advanced  to  the  vicinity  of  Cook's  River,  where  they  seem  to  have 
been  bewildered.  According  to  La  Perouse,  the  peninsula  was  supposed  by  them  to  be  Kamtchatka, 
and  an  attack  by  Russian  forces  was  dreaded.  Moreover,  many  of  the  crew  were  sick.  So,  without 
reaching  the  seventieth  parallel  the  vessels  turned  southward  and  entered  San  Bias  on  the  20th 
of  November,  1779.  An  account  of  the  voyage  was  written  by  Maurelle.  La  Perouse  obtained  a 
copy  of  the  manuscript.  The  original  is  yet  in  the  archives  at  Madrid,  and  a  copy  approved  by 
Navarrete  is  in  the  library  of  the  State  Department,  Washington,  D.  C.,  which  contains  also 
copies  of  several  accounts  of  the  same  voyage. 

Arteaga  and  Bodega  as  little  knew  of  having  been  preceded  in  this  voyage  by  Cook  one  year 
before  as  Cook  did  of  the  expedition  previous  to  his  own,  made  by  Perez  aud  Heceta. 

In  1777  settlements  extended  as  far  north  as  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  To  the  southward 
several  links  of  the  intended  chain  of  establishments  were  not  yet  filled  in.  The  coast  of  Santa 
Barbara  channel  had  been  only  partially  explored,  though  Father  Junipero  had  long  intended  to 
found  there  three  missions.  Settlers,  soldiers,  and  missionaries  could  not  be  immediately 
procured,  but  in  the  year  1777  orders  were  given  in  Mexico  to  recruit  for  that  object,  and 
about  one  hundred  persons  started  for  California  under  the  direction  of  Don  Fernando  Rivera, 
Some  delays  occurred,  but  in  the  spring  of  1782  Father  Serra  left  Monterey  and  traveled  south 
along  the  coast  to  thi)  missiou  of  San  Gabriel.  He  there  consulted  with  Don  Felipe  Neve,  who 
ha'l  arrived  as  Governor  in  1777,  and  they  decided  that  the  mission  of  Buenaventura  should  be  at 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  channel;  that  of  Purisima  Concepciou  at  the  western  end,  and  Santa 
Barbara  between  the  two.  On  the  26th  of  March  they  started  from  San  Gabriel,  and  were 
traveling  when  the  Governor  was  recalled  by  urgeut  business.  Serra  kept  on,  however,  to  a  site 
called,  (Palon  says)  since  the  first  expedition  in  17(!!>,  Assumpta,  or  Asuncion  de  Nuestra  Sefiora, 
where  he  found  an  Indian  village  in  latitude  34°  13'  N.;  and  by  erecting  some  houses  and  a  chapel 
he  founded  the  mission  of  San  Buenaventura. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  583 

Neve  rejoined  the  expedition,  and  leaving  some  soldiers  to  protect  the  new  establishment,  he 
marched  westward  towards  the  coast,  attended  by  Father  Serra.  The  shore  was  " registered  "  (i. 
e.,  mapped),  and  was  closely  examined  with  reference  to  facility  for  anchorage.  Ton  leagues  from 
San  Buenaventura  they  found  a  small  bay,  which  seemed  to  promise  good  anchorage,  and  011  the 
shore  they  erected  a  cross  and  built  a  small  Presidio  or  fort. 

The  Governor  judged  that  the  mission  could  not  be  safely  established  until  the  fort  was 
complete.  He  therefore  returned  to  San  Diego,  and  Serra  to  Monterey.  Some  soldiers  and  a 
priest  were  left  at  the  station,  which  they  named  Santa  Barbara. 

lu  the  following  year  Serra  journeyed  to  San  Gabriel,  San  Buenaventura,  San  Luis,  and  other 
stations,  and. made  a  tour  of  inspection  to  the  northern  missions,  near  San  Francisco  Bay.  lu 
the  following  year,  1784,  the  venerable  missionary  died  at  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  de  Monterey, 
and  was  buried  there.  With  him  the  progress  of  exploration  and  settlement  in  California  seems 
to  have  ceased,  but  at  intervals  some  villages  and  missions  were  subsequently  founded.  It  had 
been  in  contemplation  to  form  an  establishment  at  the  harbor  of  Trinidad  (discovered  by  Heceta 
in  1775),  but  that  purpose  was  never  .accomplished.  Of  the  persons  enlisted  in  this  work,  several 
died  about  the  same  time.  Don  Juan  Perez,  the  pilot,  a  personal  friend  of  Serra  and  assistant  in 
his  land  excursions,  ended  his  days  iu  1775,  soon  after  his  return  from  the  far  north  with  Heceta 
and  Bodega. 

Father  Juan  Cres^i,  the  associate  of  Father  Serra  in  many  labors  and  journeys,  and  author 
of  some  valuable  journals,  died  in  California  in  1782;  and  iu  the  same  year  Father  Garces,  after 
opening  a  way  from  the  Colorado  country  to  the  westward,  was  killed  by  the  Indians.  Don 
Antonio  Bucarelli,  the  Viceroy  who  had  liberally  assisted  the  Franciscans,  died  iu  1779,  and  his 
successors  were  not  energetic  men. 

The  American  Revolution,  in  which  were  involved  iu  the  interest  of  the  colonies  both  France 
and  Spain  as  against  Great  Britain,  interrupted  the  series  of  Spanish  undertakings  aud  turned 
the  attention  of  the  court  of  Madrid  to  the  east.  It  was  decided  that  there  should  be  uo  other 
expeditious  started  tor  America  until  peace  was  restored. 

The  scientific  and  commercial  world  for  a  long  period  derived  no  benefit  from  the  early 
Spanish  voyages  to  the  northwest.  All  records  of  them  being  retained  by  the  court  and  the 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  the  public  knew  only  of  the  departure,  from  time  to  time,  of  the  companies  as 
they  were  sent  out. 

CAPTAIN  JAMES  COOK,  1778. 

After  Ansou's  voyage,  iu  1741,  English  navigators  had  appeared  at  intervals  iu  the  Pacific. 
Wallis,  Byron,  aud  others  traversed  the  waters  along  the  equator  and  south  of  it,  but  the  enter 
prising  Captain  Cook  extended  navigation  to  higher  latitudes. 

In  1769  Cook  was  near  Otaheite  and  New  Zealand.  In  1772  he  again  entered  the  South  Sea, 
and  it  was  easy  to  forecast  that  the  British  would  soon  reach  the  northwest  coast  of  America, 
where  they  had  not  been  since  the  time  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  (in  1578).  But  the  coast  had  been 
remembered  by  them  under  the  name  New  A*lbion,  which  on  this  map  was  intended  to  include 
the  whole  of  Upper  California.  Spaniards,  also,  extended  their  pretensions,  and  some  of  their 
authors  claimed  rights  that  would  be  limited  only  by  impassable  ice  towards  the  North  Pole. 

Captain  Cook  had  viewed  the  icy  barrier  near  the  South  Pole,  but  in  1776  he  turned  northward 
and  was  commissioned  to  discover  whether  any  passage  for  ships  was  practicable  between  the 
I'acilic  and  the  Atlantic  waters.  Other  officers  were  at  the  same  time  sent  for  the  same  object  to 
Tallin's  Hay.  It  was  not  supposed  that  any  passage  could  be  in  less  than  68  degrees  of  latitude, 
as  lloarne,  an  English  traveler,  had  found  the  land  continuous  below  that  parallel.  Cook  was 
therefore  directed  to  winter  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  proceed  from  thence  iu  the  spring  of 
177S  as  directly  as  possible  to  the  coast  of  New  Albion,  aud  to  refit,  if  needful,  in  some  harbor 
there.  He  was  then  to  gain  the  sixty-fifth  parallel,  "taking  care  not  to  lose  time  in  exploring 
rivers  or  inlets  or  upon  any  other  account  until  he  should  get  in  the  before-mentioned  latitude." 

Some  distance  north  of  Cape  Mcndocino  the  coast  was  seen  on  the  7th  of  March,  1778,  and  as 
determined  by  chronometer  reckoning  the  longitude  was  2:35°  20'  east.  The  latitude  by  observation 
was  44°  33'  north.  Weather  being  unfavorable  he  named  the  cape  lirst  seen  from  his  vessel  Cape 


584  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

Foulweather,  which  lie  supposed  to  be  in  latitude  44°  55'  and  longitude  235°  54'  east.  He  stood 
for  some  time  to  the  northwest,  but  making  no  progress  and  finding  no  harbor  the  course  was 
changed  to  southwest.  After  recording  lunar  observations  he  reduced  seventy-two  sets  of  observa 
tions  which  had  been  previously  made  "with  the  time-keeper"  in  the  course  of  three  weeks,  and 
these  gave  a  mean  result  of  235°  15'  26"  east  for  the  longitude.  That  determination  was  adopted, 
and  was  applied  as  a  check  in  marking  on  the  chart  all  other  positions  along  the  coast. 

On  the  7th  of  March  Cook  was  near  a  cape  which  he  named  Cape  Perpetua,  and  five  days 
alter  approached  another,  and  called  it  Cape  Gregory.  lie  saw  no  more  of  the  coast,  as  a  storm 
drove  his  vessel  southward  and  westward  into  the  open  sea,  where  an  observation  gave  for  the 
latitude  42°  45'  north.  Favored  soon  with  better  winds  and  steering  northeast  the  coast  was  seen 
again  in  47°  05',  and  continuing  on  that  general  course  it  seems  probable  that  he  approached  the 
vicinity  of  Destruction  Island.  The  extremity  of  the  land  which  he  saw  was  named  Cape  Flattery ; 
because  he  hoped  to  find  a  harbor  near  it,  but  found  none.  Hence  Cook  did  not  enter  the  Strait 
of  Fnca,  but  recorded  the  geographical  position  of  the  cape,  or  more  probably  that  of  Flattery 
Rocks.  If  somewhat  southwest  of  those  rocks  he  could  not  well  see  the  mouth  of  the  strait.  On 
charts  of  the  British  Admiralty,  the  Flattery  Rocks  are  named  Cape  Flattery,  and  the  name  of 
the  cape  on  them  bears  the  designation  given  by  Vancouver,  namely,  Cape  Classet.  With 
varying  winds  Cook  stood  out  from  the  cape,  first  to  the  south,  then  west-northwest,  and  finally 
northeast,  and  on -that  course  he  reached  land  on  the  29th  of  March  in  latitude  49°  29'  north.  The 
cape  in  view  he  called  Woody  Point,  and  a  projection  southwest  of  it  lie  named  Point  Breakers. 
A  bight  between  the  heads  he  designated  Hope  Bay,  because  he  expected  to  find  there  a  harbor, 
and  so  it  proved.  He  ran  into  the  bay  on  the  1st  of  April,  moored  his  ships,  and  remained  several 
weeks,  occupied  in  making  repairs,  taking  in  wood  and  water,  in  recording  astronomical  observa 
tions,  and  in  conferences  with  the  natives  of  the  region,  which  lie  thought  was  part  of  the  conti 
nent.  When  repairs  were  complete,  Cook  set  out  on  the  20th  of  April  in  boats  to  view  the  sound, 
and  on  the  sketch  he  marked  it  King  George's  Sound,  but  he  soon  ascertained  that  by  the 
inhabitants  it  was  known  as  Nootka.  In  books  and  maps  after  Cook's  time  both  of  the  names 
were  applied,  but  ultimately  the  Indian  appellation  alone  was  used. 

Amongst  the  aborigines  Cook  found  some  iron  tools,  and  copper  and  brass  implements. 
These,  and  two  silver  spoons  mentioned  in  his  narrative,  probably  had  been  left  by  the  Spanish 
expedition  of  Perez  in  1774,  but.  having  no  knowledge  of  that,  possession  was  taken  of  the  harbor 
and  surrounding  country  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain.  Earlier,  Pere/  had  done  the 
same  for  the  King  of  Spain,  and  out  of  this  and  similar  events  arose  controversies  and  discussions 
between  the  two  powers. 

Cook  left  Nootka  on  the  26th  of  April,  and  passed  some  time  in  examinations  further  north. 
He  traced  the  coast  of  Russian  America,  and  soon  after  was  killed  in  a  dispute  with  savages  at 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  His  successor  in  command,  Capt.  Charles  Clerke,  after  another  attempt  to 
find  a  passage  through  the  northern  region  of  America,  reached  Karatchatka  with  an  exhausted 
crew,  and  from  thence  the  vessel  proceeded  to  Canton  in  command  of  Lieutenant  Gore.  Clerke 
having  died  of  consumption  on  the  22d  of  August,  1779.  At  Canton  the  sea-otter  skins  obtained 
of  the  Indians  for  a  few  buttons  and  scraps  of  iron,  were  sold  for  $60,  and  in  some  cases  for  $100 
each.  "  It  is  astonishing,"  says  La  Perouse,  "  that  the  Spaniards  who  had  this  article  in  such 
abundance  on  the  California!)  coast,  and  who  were  for  two  hundred  years  in  active  commercial 
communication  with  China,  should  not  have  found  out  its  value;  furs  having  been  for  a  long 
period  procured  by  the  Chinese  from  the  coast  of  Kamtchatka."  In  fact,  the  statement  by 
Captain  Cook  in  regard  to  sea-otter  skins,  moved  the  commercial  and  seafaring  world  more  than 
his  geographical  developments.  The  mention  of  them  in  the  history  of  his  voyage  (published  in 
1784)  excited  a  strong  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  induced  "a  general  starting  for  the  northwest,"  as 
there  once  had  been  for  the  silver  mines  of  Peru  and  Mexico.  All  maritime  nations  were  incited 
to  action,  and  from  1785  until  1793  followed  a  series  of  private  and  public  expeditions  which,  in  less 
than  ten  years,  made  the  northwest  coast  of  America  well  known,  though  it  had  been  a  mystery 
during  three  centuries.  Vancouver's  voyage  completed  the  development ;  but  all  others  were  of 
interest.  Even  trading  voyages  were  dignified  by  descriptions,  and  details  were  published, 
because  they  related  to  countries  comparatively  unknown.  Each  navigator  brought  home  addi- 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  585 

(ional  information^  knowledge,  aiid  name  of  a  promontory,  channel,  inlet,  island,  or  previously 
unknown  part  of  the  coast,  and  the  particulars  were  speedily  translated  into  all  the  languages  of 
Europe. 

LA  PfiROUSE,  1786. 

Francois  Galoup  de  la  P6rouse  sailed  from  Brest  on  the  1st  of  August,  1785,  with  two  ships, 
La  Boussole  and  L'Astrolabe,  and  after  touching  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  reached  the  northwest 
coast  of  America  on  the  23d  of  June,  1786.  When  Mount  Saint  Elias  was  in  view,  he  turned 
southward  and  sailed  as  far  as  Monterey,  in  a  direction  different  from  that  prescribed  by  his 
instructions,  in  which  the  special  objects  mentioned  were  the  exploration  of  the  coasts  of  China, 
Japan,  Tartary,  and  Kamtchatka.  But  as  the  trade  winds  there  did  not  set  in  earlier  than 
February,  some  time  was  given  for  the  examination  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Until  the  3d  of  August 
tin-  vessels  were  detained  by  several  accidents  at  a  port  which  La  Perouse.  called  Bay  des 
Francois.  He  reached  Nootka  on  the  24th  of  August,  and  as  the  weather  was  very  foggy,  it 
is  certain  that  little  was  done  for  geographical  definition.  At  the  Strait  of  Fuca  he  did  not  see 
the  entrance,  but  in  the  offing  took  soundings  and  found  "a  bank  of  rounded  pebbles  at  the 
depth  of  40  fathoms."  This  is  marked  on  his  map,  and  in  the  narrative  is  described  as  being 
150  feet  high,  1  league  wide,  apd  of  indefinite  length.  On  the  1st  of  September  La  Pe~rouse 
was  off  the  coast  a  short  distance  southward  of  Cape  Flattery,  and  surveyed  from  thence 
down  to  the  forty-fifth  parallel, and  had  several  opportunities  for  observing  latitude  and  longitude. 
This  stretch  of  the  coast  had  not  been  examined  by  Captain  Cook. 

At  Cape  Blanco  or  Orford,  the  French  navigator  saw  the  rocks  which  stretch  out  to  the 
southwest,  and  named  them  Isles  Necker,  and  subsequently  he  applied  the  same  name  to  two 
groups  of  South  Sea  islands.  In  all  other  instances  La  Pe"rouse  adopted  for  his  charts,  the 
Spanish  names,  or  those  given  by  Cook.  The  French  vessels  sailing  amidst  fogs  arrived  at 
Monterey  on  the  loth  of  September,  and  there  observations  were  made  for  geographical  position. 
I  >n  the  24th  of  that  mouth  La  Pe"rouse  started  on  his  voyage  across  the  Pacific  Ocean.  A 
comparison  between  his  charts  and  those  of  Vancouver  (only  six  years  later)  shows  that  the 
French  navigator  had  no  opportunity  to  advance  knowledge  in  the  hydrography  of  that  region. 
Still,  his  observations  would  have  been  valuable,  if  they  could  have  been  made  known  to  the 
world  promptly;  but  the  unfortunate  fate  of  that  accomplished  navigator  delayed  the  publication 
of  results  until  the  year  1797.  Vancouver  and  others  had  meanwhile  laid  open  to  the  world  the 
secrets  of  the  Pacific  coast ;  and  thus  it  happened  that  even  the  few  names  affixed  by  La  Pe"rouse 
to  localities  on  our  northwestern  coast  were  not  adopted  by  geographers,  and  are  now  seen  only 
in  the  journals  of  his  voyage.  His  charts  were  constructed  under  the  direction  of  the  astronomer 
Dagelet,  member  of  the  Academy  of  France. 

1785-1787. 

The  resorts  of  fur-beariug  animals  became  objects  of  much  interest  soon  after  the  time  of 
Captain  Cook.  In  the  higher  latitudes  the  skin  of  the  sea  otter  was  worth  much,  but  along  the 
coast  of  California  those  animals  became  scarce,  and  the  furs  were  less  valuable.  Prompted  by 
interest,  several  expeditions  went  to  the  northwestern  coast,  and  after  touching  at  points  south  of 
it,  they  finally  selected  Nootka  Sound  as  a  recruiting  station.  But  of  many  voyages,  only  such 
will  be  mentioned  as  tended  to  improve  the  knowledge  previously  gained  respecting  the  western 
coast. 

The  first  fur  hunting  expedition  was  conducted  by  Captain  Hanua,  of  England,  who  sailed 
in  1785  from  Canton  to  Xootka  Sound.  Cook  had  made  his  best  barters  in  the  last-mentioned 
place ;  and  there  Hanua  collected  many  skins  and  sojd  them  at  large  prices  in  Canton.  In  the 
year  following  he  made  another  voyage  for  trade,  but  it  added  nothing  in  the  way  of  geographical 
development.  So  also  of  the  voyages  in  1786  by  Captains  Peters,  Lowiie,  and  Guise,  from  Canton 
and  Bombay.  Peters  was  wrecked  on  one  ef  the  Aleutian  Islands,  but  the  others  reached  their 
destination,  procured  furs,  and  sold  them  in  China. 

Captains  Meares  and  Tipping  in  the  year  last  mentioned  were  unfortunate.  The  first  was 
H.  Ex.  43 74 


586  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

frozen  up  iii  Prince  William's  Sound,  aiid  lost  inauy  of  bis  crew.  Tipping,  with  his  vessel,  was  lost, 
and  was  never  heard  of  again.  In  1788-'89  Meares  made  two  successful  voyages. 

In  1785  an  association  of  London  merchants,  under  the  name  of  King  George's  or  Nootka  Sound 
Company,  sent  two  ships  to  the  North  Pacific.  One  of  the  vessels,  the  Queen  Charlotte,  was 
commanded  by  Capt.  George  Dixon;  the  other,  King  George,  was  in  charge  of  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Portlock.  Both  of  these  officers  had  served  under  the  celebrated  navigator,  Cook,  and  by  him 
were  regarded  as  able  men.  They  reached  the  northwestern  coast  in  the  summer  of  1786;  and 
there  traded  and  made  explorations,  and  wintered  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Dixon  returned  to 
the  northwest,  and  named  several  places.  As  the  chief  result  of  his  voyage,  may  be  mentioned 
the  circumnavigation  of  the  large  island  named  after  his  ship,  Queen  Charlotte's.  He  proved 
that  it  was  separated  from  Vancouver's  Island,  as  well  as  from  the  continent  of  America;  and  to 
the  dividing  channel  he  gave  the  name  Dixon's  Strait. 

The  fur-trading  adventurers  sailed  under  different  flags,  to  avoid  collision  with  English  and 
East  India  companies.  Some  used  the  Portuguese,  and  one,  Captain  Berkeley,  sailed  from  Ostend, 
in  1787,  in  the  ship  Imperial  Eagle,  on  which  he  carried  the  Austrian  flag.  This  voyage  was  the 
first  one  made  from  Nootka  Sound  to  the  southward  along  the  coast  of  California.  At  Vancouver 
Island,  Berkeley  anchored  at  an  inlet  for  trade,  and  marked  it  on  the  map  with  his  own  name,  bnl 
it  is  now  known  as  Natiuat  Sound.  A  boat  was  sent  to  Cape  Flattery,  and  after  lauding  near 
an  Indian  village  named  Classet,  went  on  southward,  but  previously  a  yawl  had  been  manned 
to  examine  the  mouth  of  a  great  inlet.  On  landing  the  crew  was  attacked  by  Indians  and 
murdered,  and  that  untoward  event  was  commemorated  by  naming  the  place  Destruction  Isle. 
It  is  probably  the  same  island  that  in  1775  was  named  by  Heceta  "Isla  de  Dolores."  Berkeley 
sailed  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  from  thence  to  China. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  MEARES,  1788. 

The  narrative  published  at  London  in  1790  is  accompanied  by  two  charts— one  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean,  the  other  of  the  northwestern  coast  of  America. 

Meares  made  several  voyages  from  Calcutta  after  the  beginning  of  the  year  1786.  In  1788  he 
was  again  with  his  ships,  the  Felice  and  the  Iphigenia,  in  King  George's  Sound  (Nootka),  and 
there  built  a  trading-post.  While  so  engaged  he  was  visited  by  an  Indian  chief  from  the  sonlh  of 
Vancouver's  Island,  and  was  invited  to  the  settlement  of  the  tribe  at  the  Bay  of  Clayaquot.  On 
the  llth  of  June  Meares  sailed  in  the  Felice  from  Nootka,  where  he  left  part  of  his  company 
employed  in  erecting  buildings.  Captain  Douglas,  in  the  Iphigeuia,  was  directed  to  trace  I  la; 
coast  to  the  north  between  Cook's  Kiver  and  Nootka,  while  Meares  went  southward. 

At  Clayaquot  Sound,  he  anchored  in  a  harbor  which  he  called  Port  Cox  ;  and  passing  Berke 
ley's  or  Natinat  Sound,  he  had,  on  the  29th  of  June,  in  clear  weather  an  inlet  in  view,  bearing 
east-southeast  with  unbroken  horizon  towards  the  east.  He  sailed  over  to  the  laud  south  of  the 
entrance  of  this  inlet,  which  he  thought  to  be  the  one  described  by  Captain  Berkeley  in  the  pre 
ceding  year,  and  then  named  John  de  Fuca  Strait.  At  page  15G  of  the  printed  narrative,  Meart-s 
gives  a  large  view  of  the  entrance.  Near  Cape  Flattery  the  vessel  was  moored,  with  the  intention 
of  exploring  with  boats  to  the  eastward.  Tatooche,  an  Indian  chief,  then  ruled  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  island  which  is  known  now  as  Tatoosh  Island.  Meares  saw  on  the  coast  a  village  named  by 
Berkeley,  and  from  that  the  headland  (Cape  Classet)  was  named  l>y  Vancouver.  Going  southward 
Meares  saw  Destruction  Island,  where  the  men  of  the  ship  Imperial  Eagle  had  been  killed  by  the 
savages.  The  bay  north  of  this  he  calls  Queenbithe,  the  name  given  by  Berkeley;  and  south  of  it 
a  projecting  part  of  the  coast  he  named  Saddle  Hill. 

A  large  snow-clad  mountain  seen  at  the  northeast  was  named  by  Meares  Mount  Olympus. 
The  Spanish  navigator  Perez  saw  it  in  the  year  1774  and  named  it  Cerro  de  Santa  Hosalia.  Mean's 
passed  the  entrance  of  Gray's  Harbor  without  seeing  it,  but  on  the  5th  of  July,  he  discovered  from  a 
distance  a  similar  body  of  water  and  named  it  Shoalwater  Bay,  because  the  soundings  decreased  very 
much  in  its  vicinity.  From  the  masthead  the  bay  was  seen  extending  inland,  and  made  up  of  several 
branches,  and  inland  the  bay  was  bounded  by  mountains.  At  the  entrance  the  northern  cape  was 
named  Cape  Shoalwater,  the  southern  he  called  Low  Point.  Some  laud  was  seen  to  the  southward, 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  .          587 

and  he  hoped  it  might  ho  the  Cape  Saint  Roe  of  the  Spaniards  behind  which  Heceta  was  said  to 
have  found  a  harbor.  As  lie  rounded  the  promontory  a  la  rye  bay  seemed  to  open,  but  when  he 
tried  to  enter,  shoal  water  was  met,  surrounded  by  breakers,  and  as  soon  as  possible  the  ship  hauled 
out  again.  In  consequence  of  this  (says  M cares),  being  now  convinced  that  there  was  no  inlet  or 
approachable  port,  the  bay  was  named  Deception  Bay,  and  the  promontory  Cape  Disappointment, 
which  headland  is  the  Cape  Saint  Roqne  of  some  Spanish  maps,  and  now  Cape  Hancock  on  charts 
of  the  Coast  Survey.  This  was  on  the  Gth  of  July,  and  Meares  then  believed  himself  able  to  assert 
that  there  existed  no  such  river  at  all  as  that  of  Saint  Eoc.  Steering  on  farther  south  he  saw  two 
headlands  and  between  them  a  bay  formed  by  the  receding  coast.  To  the  northern  headland  (now 
Tillamook  Head)  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Greuville,  and  to  the  southern,  seen  from  a  distance, 
that  of  Cape  Lookout.  The  intervening  body  of  water  he  called  Quicksand  Bay.  The  rocks  sea 
ward  of  Cape  Lookout  were  named  the  Three  Brothers.  In  his  published  work  Meares  gives  a  view 
of  the  cape  and  its  rocks,  and  among  the  latter  appears  the  perforated  rock  now  so  well  known  to 
mariners  who  pass  along  the  coast.  Cape  Lookout  was  the  southern  limit  of  the  exploration  by 
Meares.  Feeling  uneasy  in  regard  to  the  safety  of  the  people  left  at  Nootka,  he  turned  northward 
and  in  the  course  of  his  voyage  entered  the  sound  near  Vancouver  Island.  It  was  known  as 
Berkeley  Sound  after  the  year  1787,  but  it  is  now  known  as  Natinat.  There  he  found  a  harbor, 
named  it  Port  Effingham,  and  performed  the  ceremony  of  taking  possession  of  the  Strait  of  Juan 
de  Fuca  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain.  From  thence  the  long  boat  was  dispatched  in 
charge  of  Mr.  Robert  Duftiu  to  explore  the  strait.  Duffin  left  on  the  13th  of  July,  but  returned  to 
Port  Effingharn  on  the  20th  of  the  same  mouth.  Meares  says  that  after  advancing  nearly  30 
leagues  up  the  strait,  Duffin  entered  a  port  or  harbor  from  which  "he  observed  that  the  strait  to 
the  northeast  appeared  to  be  of  great  extent,  and  that  it  increased."  Meares  has  Port  Duffin  on  his 
map  in  the  position  now  occupied  on  charts  by  San  Juan,  or  Poverty  Cove.  In  that  neighborhood 
Dnffin  was  attacked  by  the  natives,  who  wounded  some  of  his  men,  and  as  soon  as  possible  the 
little  party,  in  consequence,  returned  to  Port  Effiugham.  Meares  decided  to  return  to  the  party 
which  had  been  left  at  King  George's  Sound ;  and  after  an  absence  of  nearly  two  months  he  again 
anchored  in  Friendly  Cove,  at  Nootka. 

Soon  after  his  return  to  England  Captain  Meares  published  an  account  of  his  explorations  of 
1 7!)(),  and  added  what  had  been  told  to  him  of  the  American  Captain  Gray,  whom  Meares  had 
met  at  Nootka  in  1788.  Meares  was  informed  that. Gray  sailed  in  the  ship  Washington,  in  the 
year  1789,  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  there  entered  an  extensive  inland  sea.  After  sailing  in  it 
eastward,  north,  and  northwestward,  he  had  come  out  upon  the  Pacific  at  the  north  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island,  thus  proving  that  the  land  between  Fnca  Strait  and  the  fifty-fifth  degree  of 
north  latitude  was  merely  a  group  of  islands.  Confused  by  these  statements,  Meares  declared  in 
his  published  work  in  1790  that  the  discovery  of  a  northwestern  passage  (around  the  continent  of 
North  America)  was  a  reasonable  supposition.  Captain  Gray  gave  to  Vancouver  a  true  account 
of  his  voyage,  and  stated  that  lie  had  seen  very  little  of  De  Fuca's  strait. 

Many  geographers  in  Europe  hailed  the  exaggerated  report  of  Meares,  and  the  fables  of 
Admiral  De  Fonte  respecting  a  great  northern  inland  sea  and  water  communication  between  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  Hudson's  Bay  were  revived.  Fleurieu,  the  French  author  and  minister  of 
marine;  Forster,  the  German  historian  of  the  northwest,  and  others  adopted  as  a  fact  in  geog 
raphy  "the  great  open  sea  discovered  by  the  American  ship  Washington."  Some  called  it  simply 
"la  mer  de  1'Ouest,"  and  others  recalled  the  fabulous  name  "Archipelago  of  Saint  Lazaro,"  given 
by  De  Fonte.  On  some  maps  the  route  of  Captain  Gray  was  laid  down  as  running  through  the 
middle  of  an  archipelago  on  a  dotted  line  upwards  of  600  miles  in  length.  Vancouver  reduced 
that  fantastic  sea  to  its  proper  size.  But,  as  late  as  the  sixth  year  of  the  French  Republic,  the 
geographer  Flenrieu  could  not  consent  to  give  up  the  "  mer  interieure."  Like  the  two  Buaches, 
he  continued  to  foster  belief  in  the  authenticity  of  the  romance  of  Admiral  De  Fonte,  and  he 
blames  the  map  maker,  Arrowsmith,  because  on  his  map  of  1794  the  sea  was  not  introduced, 
which,  as  Fleurieu  declared,  "would  no  doubt  lead  to  much  more  important  discoveries,  and  per 
haps  open  or  at  least  facilitate  the  long-wished-for  communication  with  the  eastern  ocean." 

A  few  years  preceding  the  French  revolution,  English  fur-traders  went  to  the  northwest,  and 
from  France  the  navigator  La  Pdiouse  passed  into  the  Pacific.  He  was  soon  followed  (in  1791) 


588  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

by  a  private  expedition,  conducted  by  Marchand,  and  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
ordered  that  exploration  should  be  made  in  the  South  Sea.  Spain  also,  which  for  ten  years  had 
discontinued  her  northwestern  expeditions,  renewed  action,  and  in  1788  sent  out  several  parties. 
These  were  partly  contemporaneous  with  Vancouver.  The  Spanish  parties  were  commanded  by 
Don  Estavau  Martinez  and  Don  Gonzalo  Lopez  de  Haro,  who  sailed,  in  the  ships  La  Princesa  and 
San  Carlos,  on  the  8th  of  March,  bound  from  San  Bias  to  the  north  .to  examine  the  vicinity  of 
the  Russian  settlements.  An  account  of  this  expedition  is  given  by  Navarrete ;  and  Huuaboldt 
found  in  Mexico  a  large  manuscript  relating  to  the  voyage.  The  same  vessels  were  sent  north 
in  1789,  and  on  the  6th  of  May  Martinez  reached  his  destination,  and  seeing  some  foreign  vessels, 
made  known  to  their  commanders  that  he  had  come  to  take  possession  of  Nootka  and  the  sur 
rounding  country  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Spain.  He  erected  a  small  fort,  mounted  artillery, 
and  sought  communication  with  Macuina,  the  Indian  chief  of  the  region,  who  had  been  during 
ten  years  well  known  to  northwestern  navigators.  The  chief  remembered  the  visit  of  Martinez 
fourteen  years  earlier,  when  he  was  on  the  coast  with  Perez. 

Macuina  is  styled  by  Humboldt  the  "  Montezuma  of  the  northwest."  To  him  and  his  people 
Martinez  declared  that  his  King  was  sovereign  everywhere  in  America,  and  that  without  his  per 
mission  none  could  trade,  navigate,  or  settle  there.  He  inspected  the  papers  of  all  foreign  cap 
tains.  Those  of  an  American  and  of  a  Portuguese  vessel  were  admitted  as  valid,  and  they  were 
allowed  to  trade;  but  the  ship  of  an  Englishman,  Captain  Colnet,  was  seized,  and  he  was  sent  a 
prisoner  to  Mexico. 

The  mission  of  Martinez  was  in  fact  merely  political,  yet  it  included  some  further  exploration 
of  the  vicinity  of  Nootka  and  of  the  channel  which  separates  it  from  Vancouver  Island.  For  the 
port  itself  he  adopted  the  name  of  Puerto  de  Santa  Cruz  de  Nutka. 

STRAIT  OF  FtICA,  1789. 

When  Martinez  was  at  the  north  with  Perez  in  1774' he  had  noticed  an  opening  which  he 
supposed  to  be  a  strait,  and  having  now  the  control  of  means  its  exploration  was  undertaken.  He 
accordingly  built  at  Nootka  a  small  galley,  the  Gertrudio,  and  put  it  under  command  of  Don  Lopez 
de  Haro,  who  had  been  with  him  in  his  preceding  voyage.  That  officer  sailed  along  the  south 
western  shore  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  after  entering  the  Strait  of  Fuca  turned  and  examined 
the  southeastern  end  of  the  island,  but  want.of  provisions  and  bad  weather  constrained  him  to 
return  to  Nootka. 

This  enterprise  of  De  Haro  was  conducted  under  special  instructions.  The  result  is  given  in 
the  journal  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana,  and  the  author  gives  a  sketch  of  previous  expeditions  for  the 
exploration  of  the  strait,  mentioning  the  ship  Gertrudis  as  commissioned  by  Martinez  ;  but  he  does 
not  name  Haro  as  the  commander.  It  is  also  noticed  in  Quimper's  manuscript  journal,  a  copy 
of  which,  approved  by  Navarrete,  is  in  the  library  of  the  State  Department  in  Washington  City, 
D.  C.  That  journal  mentions  the  vessel  as  under  command  of  DeHaro.  It  is  believed,  therefore, 
that  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras  is  in  error  when  he  says  that  Don  Jose  Narvaez  was  commander  of  this 
expedition  in  the  Gertrudis.  The  memory  of  Narvaez  may  have  failed  him,  as  he  was  at  least 
eighty  years  old  when  he  met  De  Mofras  in  Mexico  in  the  year  1842.  Narvaez  had  been  a  very 
active  officer.  He  accompanied  Elisa  in  1791 ,  and  it  is  therefore  possible  that  he  was  with  De 
Haro  in  1789. 

When  the  British  Government  protested  at  Madrid  against  the  treatment  of  Captain  Colnet, 
the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  deprived  Martinez  of  his  command,  and  ordered  him  to  return  home  by  the 
end  of  the  year  1789,  but  at  the  same  time  three  armed  vessels  were  sent  to  the  northwest  under 
the  command  of  Don  Francisco  Elisa  and  Don  Salvador  Fidalgo,  to  take  possession  of  Nootka  for 
the  King  of  Spain.  This  expedition  reached  its  destination  in  March,  1790.  Elisa  remained  to 
fortify  and  enlarge  the  establishment  at  Nootka,  while  Fidalgo  made  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the 
north.  In  the  course  of  the  year  he  viewed  the  Russian  establishments  as  other  Spaniards  had 
done,  and  entered  on  his  maps  some  names  which  have  not  been  retained.  At  the  close  of  the 
year  he  returned  to  Monterey,  and  from  thence  to  San  Bias. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUETEY.  589 

DON  MANUEL  QUIMPER,  1790. 

Quimper  sailed  from  Nootka  in  the  balandra  La  Princesa  Real  on  the  31st  of  May,  and  passed 
along  the  southwestern  shore  of  Vancouver  Island,  exploring  on  his  way  Clayaqnot  Sound.  He 
anchored  in  the  Bahia  de  San  Rafael,  and  subsequently  in  the  port  of  Cayuela,  which  he  says 
was  so  named  by  Lopez  de  Haro  the  year  before.  Quimper  reconnoitered  Clayaquot  Sound  and 
made  a  map  of  it,  but  did  not  examine  its  numerous  inlets  and  branches.  He  then  entered  the 
Strait  of  Fuca,  coasted  along  the  southern  shore,  and  anchored  at  the  harbor  of  Nunez  Gaona 
(Nee- ah  Harbor),  and  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Spain.  The  document  in 
which  an  account  is  given  of  this  interesting  ceremony  is  signed  by  Quimper  himself,  and  his 
two  pilots,  Don  Gouzalo  de  Haro  and  Don  Juan  Carrasco. 

Proceeding  easterly  to  the  port  called  by  him  Puerto  Quadra,  but  afterwards  named  by 
Vancouver  (in  1792)  Port  Discovery,  Quimper  steered  to  the  northwest  and  north  until  he  reached 
the  strait  called  La  Boca  de  Haro,  and  that  name  (Mouth  of  Haro)  he  mentions  as  if  already  known. 
He  looked  into  the  passage  but  was  unable  to  explore  it,  as  his  means  were  exhausted.  For  the 
same  reason  Quimper  says  "  we  could  not  explore  the  other  small  inlets  or  harbors  which  we  saw 
M  the  western  entrance  of  De  Haro  Strait."  Many  years  afterwards  these  were  named  by  the 
English  Peddler  Bay  and  Becher  Bay. 

MALASPINA,  1791. 

The  Italian  navigator  Malaspina  was  noted  for  scientific  acquirements  and  discoveries,  and 
his  career  was  marked  by  misfortune.  Like  Captain  Cook  and  La  P6rouse,  he  engaged  in  geo 
graphical  explorations,  of  which  the  northwest  coast  of  America  was  merely  one  branch.  In  1789 
he  sailed  from  Cadiz  with  two  well  appointed  vessels,  La  Descubierta  and  Atrevida,  and,  after 
reaching  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  made  a  .careful  survey  of  the  coast  of  South  America,  from  thence 
into  the  Pacific,  and  as  far  north  as  Mexico.  Malaspina  arrived  at  Acapulco  on  the  2d  of  February, 
1791.  By  direction  he  was  to  proceed  north,  survey  the  coast,  and  seek  for  a  passage  into 
Hudson's  Bay,  as  that  was  still  regarded  as  an  unsettled  question.  The  well-known  geographer 
T.  X.  Buache  had  in  the  previous  year  read  a  memoir  before  the  Academy  of  France,  in  which 
he  attempted  to  prove  that  the  old  fable  of  Maldonado's  discovery  of  a  strait  at  the  north  "  was 
founded  on  reason,  nature,  and  probability."  Another  of  the  name  had  believed  in  the  fictitious 
narrative  of  De  Fonte.  It  seems  likely  that  some  account  of  the  statement  by  Meares  respecting 
a  northern  Archipelago,  through  which  the  American  sloop  Vrashirigton  was  said  to  have  sailed, 
had  reached  the  court  of  Spain. 

Malaspina  left  Acapulco  on  the  1st  of  May,  1791,  and  sailed  northward  as  far  as  the  lati 
tude  of  Mount  Saint  Elias.  He  saw  no  indication  of  Maldonado's  strait,  but  having  instruments 
and  knowledge  of  methods  of  observation  (as  stated  by  Humboldt)  he  determined  longitude 
and  latitude  at  many  points  more  accurately  than  had  ever  been  previously  done.  The  height 
of  Mount  Saint  Klias  and  the  height  of  Mount  Fairweather  were  approximately  ascertained  and 
magnetic  observations  were  recorded. 

Touching  at  Nootka  on  his  return,  Malaspina  erected  an  astronomical  observatory  and 
determined  the  geographical  position  of  the  place.  Two  of  his  officers;  Don  Joseph  de  Espinosa 
and  Don  Ciriaco  Cevallos,  were  sent  in  boats  to  survey  the  islands  and  channels  of  that  locality. 
They  found  that  Nootka  was  on  an  island,  and  passing  around  it  they  came  out  upon  the  sea 
by  a  channel  since  known  as  Esperauza  Inlet. 

Malaspina  was  not  able  to  explore  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  bnt  from  Cape  Mendocino  he  passed, 
with  the  coast  in  view,  down  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  frequently  recording  observations  for  the 
construction  of  his  chart.  No  previous  expedition  had  afforded  data  for  defining  the  shore  line 
with  such  accuracy.  His  records  were  deposited  in  the  Spanish  archives,  and  ultimately  he 
became  the  victim  of  court  intrigues.  In  a  dungeon  he  languished  many  years,  and  was  at  last 
released  by  the  French.  His  name  seemed  to  be  forgotten  in  Spain,  as,  with  the  appearance  of 
studied  malice,  his  expedition  to  the  Pacific  was  alluded  to  by  Spanish  writers  as  having  been 
made  by  the  ships  Descubierta  and  Atrevida.  The  learned  author  Navarrete,  in  his  history  of 


590  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

the  northwestern  coast,  does  not  mention  Malaspina,  but  sometimes  refers  to  him  as  the  "  com 
mandant,"  &c.  But  in  time  most  of  the  works  of  Malaspina  were  published,  and  upon  the 
results  of  his  observations  (says  Humboldt)  are  founded  all  the  Spanish  sea  charts  of  America 
made  since  the  year  1799.  Previous  representations  are  of  value  only  as  documents  pertaining 
to  the  history  of  discovery  and  development. 

The  commander  at  Nootka,  Don  Francisco  Elisa,  went  out  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1791  to 
clear  up  uncertainties  respecting  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  some  doubts  having  arisen  in  regard  to  the 
report  given  by  Quimper  who  had  been  there  in  the  previous  year.  Like  some  others  this  voyage 
of  Elisa  has  been  neglected  or  overlooked  by  most  writers.  There  seems  to  be  only  one  source 
of  information  hi  regard  to  it,  namely,  the  journal  of  Galiano  and  Valde/,  on  the  second  page 
of  which  is  given  a  short  account  of  the  undertaking,  and  in  the  narrative  are  mentioned  special 
points,  the  capes  and  bays  mentioned  by  Elisa,  with  the  names  which  he  assigned  to  them.  He 
sailed  from  Nootka  in  May,  1791,  and  until  the  7th  of  August  was  engaged  in  exploring  the  Strait 
of  Fuca  and  Rosario  Strait.  Advancing  further  than  his  predecessors,  he  passed  the  entrance  of 
Admiralty  Inlet  (Bocas  del  Coamaiio),  Deception  Sound  (Entraca  de  Flow),  and  sailed  through 
what  is  now  called  Rosario  Strait.  He  discovered  and  named  several  islands,  and  entered 
Bellingham  Bay,  which  he  called  "  Seno  de  Gaston."  Elisa  was  the  first  European  who  entered  the 
Gulf  of  Georgia,  and  to  it  he  gave  the  name  Canal  de  Nuestra  Senora  del  Rosario.  Advancing  as 
far  as  Frazer's  River  entrance  and  Buzzard's  Inlet,  he  named  the  latter  Canal  de  Florida  Blanco,  in 
honor  of  the  Spanish  minister.  He  went  no  further,  but  seems  to  have  had  some  distant  capes  in 
view.  His  means  were  exhausted,  most  of  his  crew  were  sick,  and  himself  so  ill  that  one  of  his 
officers,  Don  Joseph  Narvaez,  was  in  the  latter  part  of  the  voyage  the  active  commander.  It  was 
Narvaez  also  who  compiled  the  maps  of  the  expedition,  and  these  circumstances  perhaps  explain 
his  assertion  made  to  De  Mofras  when  they  met  in  Mexico,  that  he  had  himself  explored  the  Strait 
of  Fuca  and  Rosario  Strait  in  1791.  But  he  had  boasted  of  this  as  early  as  1789,  when  he  was, 
perhaps,  there  under  the  command  of  De  Haro. 

MARCHAND,  1791. 

Etienne  Marchaud  was  captain  of  a  French  merchant  vessel  trading  to  the  East  Indies  when 
(in  1788)  returning  from  Bengal  he  met  at  St.  Helena,  with  Captain  Portlock,  an  Englishman,  who 
told  him  of  the  very  profitable  fur  trade  then  commencing  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America.  On 
his  arrival  at  Marseilles,  Marchand  made  the  facts  known  to  the  house  of  Bans,  a  wealthy  and 
enterprising  commercial  firm,  who  at  once  fitted  out  the  ship  Le  Solide  and  gave  the  command  to 
Captain  Marchand.  A  staff  of  eleven  officers  joined  him,  and  preparations  were  made  to  enable  the 
party  to  make  discoveries  as  well  as  to  carry  on  trade.  They  sailed  from  Marseilles  in  December, 
1790,  four  years  after  La  Pe"rouse,  and  on  the  12th  of  August,  1791,  arrived  at  Norfolk  Bay,  called 
by  the  Spaniards  Baya  deGuadalnpe,  and  by  the  Russians,  Sitka  Sound.  Somewhat  disappointed 
with  the  results  of  commercial  transactions,  Marchand  passed  along  the  coast  southeast,  and 
examined  points  of  land,  ports,  and  bays  on  Queen  Charlotte's  Island  and  in  its  vicinity;  but  all 
of  these  had  been  previously  visited  by  La  P^ronse,  and  by  some  of  the  English  navigators. 
After  some  attempts  at  trade  Marchand  went  further  south,  intending  to  enter  Berkeley  Sound  on 
Vancouver  Island,  and  from  thence,  if  practicable,  go  as  far  south  as  Cape  Mendocino. 

Marchand  anchored  off  Berkeley  Sound  on  the  7th  of  September,  but  was  prevented  from 
entering  by  threatening  weather.  While  making  ready  on  the  following  day,  he  saw  a  three- 
masted  vessel  coming  out  of  the  port,  which  he  concluded  had  taken  all  the  furs  that  were 
previously  there.  He  noticed  that  the  strange  vessel  (an  American  ship)  took  the  course  which 
be  had  intended  to  pursue  towards  the  coast  of  New  Albion  and  Cape  Mendoriuo.  Hence,  being 
anxious  to  get  the  highest  price  for  his  cargo,  he  sailed  for  China.  Fleurien  regards  it  as 
improbable  that  Marchand  saw  even  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 

VANCOUVER,  noa-'gs. 

In  the  period  of  fourteen  years  after  the  expedition  of  Captain  James  Cook  no  party  was 
sent  from  England  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  A  voyage,  however,  was  planned  in  1789  for  exploring 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  591 

some  of  tin-,  southern  regions,  aud  Captain  Henry  Eoberts,  a  friend  of  Cook,  was  invited  to  take 
command.  Captain  George  Vancouver,  associated  with  Cook  in  his  last  voyage,  was  urged  by 
Roberts  to  accept  place  as  his  second,  aud  the  ship  Discovery  was  fitted  out  for  them. 

Not  long  before  the  vessel  was  ready  for  sea  (April,  1790)  it  became  known  that  the  English 
factories  at  Nootka  and  the  English  ship  of  Captain  Coliiet  had  been  seized  by  the  Spaniards. 
The  ship  "Discovery''  was  in  consequence  provided  with  an  armament;  and  the  preparation  of  a 
formidable  English  fleet  induced  the  court  of  Spain  to  oft'er  restitution.  In  July  an  officer  was 
sent  to  Nootka  "  to  receive  back  the  territory  which  the  Spaniards  had  seized."  George  Vancouver 
was  appointed  for  that  duty. 

The  attention  of  the  British  Government  being  thus  drawn  to  the  northwest,  where  fisheries 
and  the  fur  trade  had  become  objects  of  material  importance  to  England,  Vancouver  was  directed 
to  make  an  accurate  survey  of  the  coast  from  the  thirtieth  parallel  northwestward  to  Cook's  River, 
"  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  examination  of  the  supposed  Strait  of  Fuca,  said  to  be  situated 
between  48°  and  49°  north  latitude,  aud  to  lead  through  an  opening  which  the  sloop  Washington 
\\iis  reported  to  have  passed  in  1789."  He  was  further  directed  to  enter  and  explore  all  the 
waters,  rivers,  aud  inlets  of  that  coast  only  so  far  as  they  were  navigable  for  sea-going  vessels,  aud 
on  no  account  whatever  to  touch  at  any  port  of  the  northwest  coast  south  of  the  thirtieth  parallel 
of  latitude. 

Vancouver,  though  amply  provided  with  means  aud  instruments,  was  not  so  well  provided  as 
Cook  and  La  Peiouse  had  been  with  scientific  observers.  Hence  the  task  of  making  astronomical 
and  nautical  observations  devolved  on  Vancouver  personally.  He  had  "  amongst  the  officers  and 
young  gentlemen  of  his  quarter  deck  a  few  who,  with  a  little  instruction,  would  soon  be  enabled 
to  construct  charts,  take  plans  of  bays  and  harbors,  draw  landscapes,  and  make  faithful  portraits 
of  the  headlands,  coasts,  aud  countries  which  might  be  discovered."  His  able  officers  deserve 
to  be  mentioned,  as  their  names  are  attached  to  inlets,  bays,  and  capes  to  this  day.  Those  in  the 
ship  Discovery  were  Zacharia  Mudge,  Peter  Puget,  Joseph  Baker,  and  Joseph  Whidbey.  The 
Chatham  was  commanded  by  Lieut.  W.  R.  Broughton,  and  the  officers  associated  with  him  were 
James  Hanson  and  James  Johustone. 

Vancouver,  like  most  of  his  predecessors,  made  the  Sandwich  Islands  his  chief  place  of  resort 
and  his  winter  station.  He  sailed  from  England  on  the  1st  of  April,  1791,  and  arrived  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands  on  the  1st  of  March,  1792.  On  the  18th  of  the  same  month  he  again  went  to 
sea,  and  saw  the  coast  of  New  Albion,  and  also  Cape  Mendocino,  and  from  thence  sailed  northward, 
as  far  as  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  with  favorable  winds.  He  kept  the  coast  in  view,  as  the  weather 
w;is  clear,  at  an  average  distance  of  about  3  leagues  from  laud.  "  When  the  weather  prevented 
our  making  free  with  the  shore  or  our  hauling  off  for  the  night,  the  return  of  fine  weather  and 
the  daylight  uniformly  brought  us,  if  not  to  the  identical  spot  we  had  departed  from,  at  least 
within  a  few  miles  of  it,  and  never  beyond  the  northern  limits  of  the  coast  which  we  had  previously 
seen.  This  afforded  the  most  complete  opportunity  of  determining  its  various  turnings  and 
windings,  as  also  the  position  of  all  its  conspicuous  points,  ascertained  by  meridional  altitudes 
for  the  latitude,  and  observations  by  the  chronometer,  which  we  had  the  good  fortune  to  record 
once,  aud  in  general  twice,  every  day."  He  noted  accurately  the  configuration  and  soundings 
near  Cape  Mendocino,  and  explored  the  sandy  beach  near  Humboldt  Bay,  but  did  not  enter  that 
body  of  water.  He  also  recognized  and  named  the  capes  Rocky  Point,  Point  Saint  George,  Cape 
Orford,  Cape  Gregory,  Cape  Perpetua,  and  Cape  Foulweather,  where  Captain  Cook  had  touched 
the  coast ;  likewise  Cape  Disappointment  and  Deception  Bay,  names  given  by  Meares  to  the 
entrance  of  Heceta  Inlet,  now  Columbia  River  entrance.  There  Vancouver  was  deceived  as  Meares 
had  been.  He  saw  breakers,  aud  "  not  considering  this  opening  worthy  of  more  attention,"  he 
passed  on  with  pleasant  weather  and  a  favoring  breeze  which  he  was  anxious  to  improve.  He 
endeavored  to  enter  Shoalwater  Bay  but  was  unable,  and  did  not  attempt  to  get  a  nearer  view  of 
the  country,  being  attracted  when  off  Gray's  Harbor  by  a  high  cape  in  the  distance,  named  by 
him  Cape  Grenville.  He  recognized  the  Island  of  Destruction,  named  by  Captain  Berkeley,  and 
"  approached  with  increasing  curiosity  and  excitement  the  region  where  De  Fuca's  strait  was  said 
to  be." 

On  the  29th  of  April  Vancouver  fell  in  with  the  American  ship  Columbia,  commanded  by 


592  UNITED  STATES  C*OAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

Capt.  Robert  Gray,  the  same  officer  who  in  the  sloop  Washington  was  said  to  have  sailed  through 
De  Fuca's  strait  to  an  interior  sea.  With  him  Vancouver  conferred  and  learned  that  Gray  had 
seen  only  about  50  miles  of  the  strait ;  but  Gray  gave  more  important  information  in  regard  to 
the  mouth  of  a  large  river  which  he  had  seen  in  latitude  46°  10'.  Vancouver  kept  on  northward, 
looking  for  the  promontory  named  by  Captain  Cook  Cape  Flattery,  but  because  of  discrepancy  in 
the  latitude  he  could  not  identify  the  place  with  complete  satisfaction.  He  concluded,  however, 
that  the  northwestern  end  of  the  land  2  miles  from  Tatooche  Island,  which  he  had  called  Cape 
Classet,  must  be  the  point  so  named  by  Cook,  and  therefore  adopted  the  name  on  his  chart.  He 
accounted  for  the  discrepancy  in  latitude  by  supposing  that  Cook  had  been  carried  by  the  currents 
farther  north  than  he  was  aware  of,  but  in  that  conclusion  Vancouver  probably  erred.  The  head 
land  which  Cook  called  Cape  Flattery  was  not  the  same  as  that  named  by  Meares  and  Vancouver 
Cape  Classet,  but  was  more  probably  the  Flattery  Rocks. 

A  rock  standing  northwest  from  the  Cape,  Vancouver  named  Rock  Duncan,  in  compliment  to 
an  English  captain  from  whom  he  received  an  excellent  sketch  of  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 
The  sketch  is  doubtless  the  same  "  sketch  of  the  coast  of  North  America  from  Nootka  down  to  47 
degrees  north  latitude,  including  the  Gulf  of  Juan  de  Fuca,"  of  which  mention  is  made  by  the 
Lords  of  the  Admiralty  in  their  additional  instructions  to  Vancouver.  Dalrymple  in  the  year  1791 
published  Captain  Duncan's  chart  of  the  Strait.  On  the  evening  of  the  29th  of  April  Vancouver 
entered  it,  sailed  next  day  along  the  south  shore,  and  gave  the  name  New  Dungeness  to  a  low  sandy 
point  which  resembled  Dungeness  in  the  British  Channel.  In  the  course  of  the  following  day  he 
examined  and  named  Port  Discovery  without  knowing  that  two  years  earlier  it  had  been  named  by 
the  Spaniards  Puerto  de  Quadra.  There  he  moored  his  vessels  for  repair,  left  a  party  on  shore  in 
charge  of  Mr.  Broughton,  and  then  with  boats  went  eastward  to  explore  the  unknown  waters.  The 
party  under  Vancouver  started  on  the  7th  of  May  with  provisions  for  five  days.  After  rounding 
the  eastern  entrance  of  Port  Discovery  they  entered  a  broad  inlet,  with  two  branches  stretching 
south-southwest  and  south-southeast.  In  the  western  arm  a  harbor  was  found  similar  to  Port 
Discovery,  and  to  it  was  given  the  name  Port  Townshend,  in  compliment  to  the  English  marquis  of 
that  title.  A  high,  steep  cliff  forming  the  point  which  divides  the  harbor  from  the  broad  eastern 
inlet  was  called  Marrowstone  Point,  because  it  seemed  to  be  composed  of  a  species  of  marrowstoue. 

On  the  9th  of  May  Vancouver  went  southward  into  Admiralty  Sound,  and  saw  on  the  west 
ern  shore  a  small  bay  fringed  by  large  trees.  This  he  named  Oak  Cove.  From  a  high  perpen 
dicular  bluff,  marked  by  him  as  Foulweather  Bluff,  he  observed  that  the  inlet  separated,  as  at 
MaiTowstone  Point,  into  two  branches.  The  western  arm  was  explored  as  far  as  Hazel  Point,  a 
name  which  he  applied  because  of  the  abundance  of  those  trees;  but  it  has  since  been  known  as 
New  Kolowan  Point.  From  thence  the  channel  sends  out  a  short  arm  or  bay  to  the  north,  and 
this  was  explored  by  Vancouver,  but  was  not  named. 

He  then  passed  into  the  southwestern  extremity  of  the  great  canal,  and  according  to  his  obser 
vations  it  ended  in  latitude  47°  21'  north.  Hoping  that  some  communication  with  the  east 
might  be  found  in  Admiralty  Inlet,  Lieutenant  Johntone  was  sent  to  examine  that  quarter,  but, 
according  to  his  report,  the  arm  known  as  Hood's  Canal  was  overlooked.  This  was  subsequently 
examined  and  traced  by  the  exploring  expedition,  under  Captain  Wilkes.  Vancouver,  however, 
passed  through  it  and  uanied  it  for  one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty.  He  resolved  to  explore 
the  broad  inlet  (Admiralty  Inlet)  with  the  ship  Discovery,  while  Mr.  Broughton,  in  the  Chatham, 
was  examining  the  islands  northeast  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 

On  the  18th  of  May  both  vessels  moved  accordingly,  and  Vancouver  entered  the  main  body  of 
Admiralty  Inlet,  lie  found  an  attractive  region.  A  point  of  land  near  a  good  roadstead  he  first 
named  Village  Point,  from  an  Indian  village  in  that  vicinity,  but  afterwards  he  marked  it  as  Res 
toration  Point,  having,  as  he  says,  "  celebrated  that  memorable  event  when  at  anchor  under  it." 
This  point,  lying  at  the  northern  entrance  of  Port  Orchard,  north  of  a  small  island  now  known  as 
Blake  Island,  he  made  the  principal  station  while  exploring  the  sound.  From  thence  he  sent  out 
parties  to  examine  the  different  water  branches,  and  there  he  awaited  the  return  of  the  party  in 
the  Chatham.  Towards  the  south,  Admiralty  Inlet  shows  two  branches,  separated  by  Vashon 
Island.  To  explore  the  southwestern  arm  a  party  was  sent  in  boats  under  Lieutenant  Puget,  on 
the  19th  of  May.  Meanwhile  Vancouver  and  his  men  examined  the  vicinity,  and  approaches  to 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  593 

their  station.  A  narrow  inlet  seems  to  form  a  small  cove,  but  when  explored  by  Mr.  Orchard  it 
was  found  to  communicate  with  other  waters.  A  boat  expedition  found  it  to  be  an  interior  basin 
with  several  branches,  and  it  was  named  Port  Orchard.  On  Vancouver's  chart  it  is  shown  as  a 
closed  basin,  but  subsequently  his  sketeh  was  corrected  when  it  became  known  that  this  so-called 
port  had  other  branches,  communications,  and  passages. 

On  the  25th  of  May  Mr.  B  rough  ton  returned  to  the  Chatham  from  his  northern  excursion,  and 
joining  Vancouver  off  Port  Orchard  gave  him  intelligence  of  a  large  assemblage  of  islands  northeast 
of  the  Strait  of  Fuca  :  the  Haro  Archipelago.  Vancouver  set  out  on  the  following  day  to  explore 
further  south  the  main  arm  of  the  great  channel  (Admiralty  Inlet),  at  the  same  time  directing  that, 
on  the  return  of  Puget  and  his  party,  Broughton  was  to  examine  a  branch  to  the  northeast,  tlie 
entrance  of  which  had  been  seen  on  the  eastern  shore.  Vancouver  had  noticed'on  that  shore,  in 
latitude  47°  17'  north,  an  opening  which  he  supposed  might  lead  far  to  the  eastward,  as  a  range  of 
distant  snow  clad  mountains  was  marked  by  a  break  corresponding  with  the  direction  of  the  branch. 
He  soon  after  found  there  only  the  closed  body  of  water  now  known  as  Commencement  Bay. 
Proceeding  on  the  main  water,  another  land  opening  was  seen  leading  in  the  direction  to  the 
place  at  which  the  ships  were  moored.  The  land  proved  to  be  a  large  island.  He  sailed  around 
it  and  named  it  Vashon  Island,  in  memory  of  his  friend,  Captain  Vashon,  of  the  British  navy. 
Keeping  on  south  and  west  various  bays  and  branches  were  explored,  but  they  all  ended  in  swampy 
ground.  On  Monday  the  28th  he  reached  the  south  end  of  Admiralty  Inlet,  and  on  his  chart 
placed  it  in  latitude  47°  03'  north,  and  longitude  237°  18'  west.  To  the  east  and  south  all  was  in 
closed  by  land  and  he  had  already  entered*  the  quarter  which  had  been  assigned  to  Mr.  Puget.  He 
therefore  returned  and  reached  the  anchorage  on  the  29th  of  May,  on  his  way  passing  the  western 
side  of  Vashon  Island.  Puget  had  passed  quite  through  the  southwestern  part  of  Admiralty  Inlet, 
and  to  that  branch  Vancouver  gave  the  name  of  Puget  Sound. 

Broughton  had  sailed  to  the  branch  which  was  afterwards  called  Possession  Sound,  and  there 
the  returning  party  found  the  Chatham  at  anchor  on  the  30th  of  May. 

Mr.  Whidbey  had  been  previously  sent  in  a  boat  to  explore  the  northern  branches  of  that 
sound.  One  was  named  Port  Susan,  but  it  is  now  known  that  it  has  an  opening  to  the.  north. 
Another  was  named  Port  Gardner,  and  to  a  small  harbor  found  by  the  party  Vancouver  gave  the 
name  of  Penn's  Cove. 

The  officers  and  men  of  Vancouver's  company  being  again  collected,  and,  as  he  judged,  the 
exploration  being  complete,  the  commander  concluded  to  take  formal  possession  of  the  region 
before  proceeding  to  another  field  of  research.  That  ceremony  was  performed  on  the  4th  of  June, 
the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  King  George  III.  Vancouver  went  ashore,  and  with  cnstoinary 
formalities  claimed  all  the  coasts  from  that  part  of  New  Albion  in  latitude  39°  20'  north  to  the 
entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca;  also  the  islands  within  the  strait,  those  in  the  interior  sea,  and 
all  the  channels  and  branches  of  that  sea.  To  these  collectively  he  gave  the  name  Gulf  of  Georgia. 
The  adjacent  tract  he  called  New  Georgia,  and  the  bay  or  inlet  where  the  ceremonies  were  per 
formed  was  named  Possession  Sound. 

On  the  (5th  of  June  both  ships  sailed  through  the  entrance  of  Admiralty  Inlet  to  the  north 
around  the  cape  to  which  was  then  given  the  name  Point  Partridge,  and,  when  near  what  is  now 
called  Smith's  Island,  Whidbey  was  sent  with  boats  to  explore  two  entrances  visible  on  the  main 
shore  towards  the  northeast,  the  vessels  keeping  on  north  to  a  harbor  seen  by  Broughton  when 
he  was  cruising  with  the  Chatham  at  the  end  of  May.  He  had  named  the  place  Strawberry  Bay. 
This  port  was  on  the  southeastern  side  of  an  island,  called  by  Vancouver  Cypress  Island,  where 
the  ships  were  moored  to  await  the  return  of  the  boats.  There  Whidbey  arrived  on  the  10th  of 
June,  and  reported  that  having  entered  the  most  southern  of  the  two  inlets  he  found  it  a  narrow 
and  intricate  channel  abounding  in  rocks  and  communicating  with  another  previously  discovered 
by  him,  which  was  supposed  to  be  closed,  and  was  named  Port  Gardner.  The  name  given  to  the 
one  last  visited  was  Deception  Passage,  and  the  long  strip  of  land  which  Whidbey  had  proved  to 
be  an  island  was  named  after  him,  Whidbey  Island.  After  leaving  Deception  Passage  he  had 
entered  an  inlet  to  the  northeast  and  found  an  extensive  bay,  the  shore  lines  of  which  he  did  not 
trace.  They  left  Strawberry  Bay,  and  going  north  anchored  on  the  llth  June  in  another,  which 
was  afterwards  called  Birch  Bay,  where  Vancouver  intended  to  establish  a  central  station  for 
H.  Ex.  43 75 


594  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

further  operations  and  boat  excursions.  There  Broughtou  was  left  in  command,  and  was  directed 
to  make  astronomical  observations,  while  Whidbey  went  southeast  to  complete  the  survey  of  the 
great  bay  he  had  discovered  from  Deception  Passage ;  and  Vancouver  in  person  started  with 
boats  to  the  north  to  examine  the  shore  of  the  continent.  He  left  Birch  Bay  on  the  12th  of  June, 
and  explored  two  bays,  but  assigned  no  name  to  either.  Passing  around  a  long,  low  peninsula, 
west  of  these,  he  called  it  Point  Roberts,  after  Capt.  Henry  Roberts,  his  predecessor  in  the 
command  of  the  ship  Discovery,  and  sailed  along  the  shores  of  the  delta  of  what  is  now  known  as 
Frazer's  River.  Here  the  soundings  diminished  from  10  fathoms  to  1  fathom,  and  all  endeavoia 
to  approach  the  eastern  shore  were  to  no  purpose.  The  saud  bank  was  so  extensive  that  in  order 
to  clear  it  he  was  constrained  to  pass  westward  to  anchor  for  the  night.  Next  day  lie  again 
started  in  a  northeast  direction  and  found  a  cape  which  he  named  Point  Gray,  in  compliment  to 
Capt.  George  Gray.  The  space  between  this  and  Point  Roberts  seemed  to  be  "a  low  flat  very 
much  inundated,  and  to  have  two  openings  between  the  two  points."  These  were  doubtless  the 
mouths  of  Frazer's  River.  The  sand  bank  between  them  he  named  Sturgeon  Bank,  as  he  had 
bought  some  sturgeon  there  from  Indian  fishermen.  Thus  Vancouver  missed  the  discovery  of  the 
largest  river  in  New  Georgia,  as  he  had  previously  overlooked  the  Columbia  River  entrance. 

From  Point  Gray  he  surveyed  three  extensive  channels,  named  by  him  Buzzard's  Canal, 
Howe's  Sound,  and  Jervis  Canal.  On  his  way  southward  Vancouver  met  on  the  22d  of  June  two 
Spanish  vessels  near  Gray's  Point ;  and  in  con  versa  tiou  with  Captains  Valdez  and  Galianos  learned 
that  the  expedition  under  Elisa  had  in  the  preceding  year,  and  earlier  than  himself,  examined  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia.  They  exhibited  Elisa'S  charts,  and  Vancouver  saw  on  them  the 
shore  lines  of  bays  and  other  geographical  details  extending  4  leagues  further  than  he  had  advanced. 
The  Spanish  commanders  were  surprised  when  told  that  Vancouver  had  not  seen  the  river  entrance 
which  Elisa  had  named  Rio  Blanco.  The  English  commander  evidently  knew  nothing  of  the  exist 
ence  of  Frazer's  River. 

On  the  23d  of  June  Vancouver  again  was  at  the  anchorage  of  his  vessels  in  Birch  Bay.  Whid 
bey  had  previously  arrived  from  his  boat  excursion  to  the  eastward,  and  reported  that  he  had  ex 
amined  a  large  expanse  of  water ;  and  on  his  chart  Vancouver  marked  it  with  the  name  Bellinghain 
Bay.  Other  boats  had  been  employed  in  the  examination  of  islands  at  the  west,  but  "  these  were 
found  so  abundantly  dispersed  as  to  preclude  any  correct  examination  without  having  leisure  for 
the  purpose."  Thus,  having  traced  only  the  southern  and  eastern  parts,  the  development  of  the 
'Haro  Archipelago  was  left  to  later  explorers.  With  a  fine  breeze  and  very  pleasant  weather,  the 
two  ships  sailed  from  Birch  Bay  on  midsummer  morning  and  proceeded  northwestward  up  the  gulf. 
Soon  after,  Vancouver  again  met  the  Spanish  expedition  under  Valdez  and  Galiauo,  and  the  three 
commanders  resolved  to  carry  on  the  work  of  discovery  jointly.  Sometimes  the  exploration  of  an 
inlet  or  cape  was  confided  to  the  Spanish,  and  at  other  times  to  the  English  officers ;  but  the  partner-" 
ship  was  soon  dissolved.  After  the  13th  of  July  each  party  pursued  its  own  course. 

Vancouver  sent  Lieutenant  Johnstone  in  a  boat  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  the  inland  waters 
on  which  they  now  were  had  any  outlet  to  the  Pacific.  After  passing  through  narrow  straits,  it 
was  found  that  the  tide  entered  from  the  northwest;  and  as  the  party  advanced  many  Indian 
canoes  were  met,  and  as  generally  near  the  mouth  of  an  outlet  the  shores  were  studded  with 
Indian  settlements  he  judged  that  he  was  in  a  passage  to  some  other  water,  and  soon  after  saw 
a  broad  sheet  of  ocean  in  the  distance.  On  the  chart  the  passage  was  marked  Johnstoue  Strait. 
On  the  10th  of  August  Vancouver  entered  the  Pacific  and  passed  along  the  coast  to  the  52d  parallel, 
returned  around  the  island,  and  arrived  at  Nootka  on  the  27th  of  the  same  mouth.  Four  days 
after  he  was  followed  by  the  Spanish  ships  Sutil  and  Mexicana,  which  had  also  explored  Jolmstone's 
Strait  with  its  numerous  branches  and  inlets,  and  had  given  names  to  all.  Vancouver  preceded 
them,  and  it  is  proper  that  geographical  names  attached  by  that  navigator  should  be  retained  on 
existing  charts.  With  Quadra,  the  Spanish  governor,  then  resident  at  Xootka,  Vancouver  agreed, 
and  the  great  island  was  named  Quadra  and  Vancouver  Island.  In  October  of  the  same  year 
(1792)  he  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  which  had  become,  since  the  time  of  Captain  Cook  and 
the  fur-traders,  a  harbor  of  resort  for  the  northwestern  navigators  from  England  and  Eastern 
America.  Vancouver  left  Nootka  with  three  vessels,  the  Discovery,  the  Chatham,  and  the  Da-dalus. 
After  len.ainiug  a  short  time  in  sight  of  the  southern  coast  of  the  island,  he  crossed  the  approaches 


, 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  595 

of  the  Strait  of  Fuca.  Captain  Cook  had  applied  the  name  Cape  Flattery  to  what  Vancouver  had 
called  Cape  Classet,  but,  on  finding  that  his  designation  was  the  name  of  an  inferior  Indian  chief, 
Vancouver  adopted  the  name  which  the  cape  now  bears. 

On  the  18th  of  October  he  was  off  Bulflnch  Harbor,  so  called  by  Captain  Gray,  who  discovered 
it,  and  from  thence  Mr.  Whidbey  was  sent  in  the  Daedalus  to  explore  the  port.  Vancouver  in  the 
Discovery,  and  Broughton  in  the  Chatham,  went  on  to  the  entrance  of  Columbia  River,  arid  there 
the  Chatham  was  directed  to  lead  in,  and  signal  at  the  bar  if  not  more  than  4  fathoms  of  water 
should  be  found  on  it.  She  safely  made  her  way  in,  but  the  Discovery  in  following  soon  came  into 
3  fathoms.  Vancouver  considered  his  vessel  in  danger,  and  hauled  to  the  westward.  The  day  fol 
lowing  he  made  two  other  attempts  to  enter  and  reach  the  Chatham.  The  weather  was  clear  and 
favorable.  Vancouver  saw  far  into  the  valley,  and  observed  to  the  eastward  a  high  snow-clad 
mountain,  which  he  named  Mount  Saint  Helens,  in  honor  of  the  British  ambassador  at  Madrid.  It 
is  a  peak  of  the  great  range  of  mountains  south  of  Mount  Baker  and  Mount  Eaiuier.  On  tbe  21st, 
as  the  weather  looked  threatening,  Vancouver  stood  out  to  sea,  leaving  the  exploration  of  the  river 
entrance  to  his  lieutenant,  Broughton.  On  the  way  southward  the  commander  again  determined 
the  geographical  position  of  Cape  Mendocino,  and  found  the  latitude  to  correspond  exactly  with  his 
former  observation.  The  longitude  determination  was  within  3',  and  this  proved  the  accuracy  of 
his  first  survey.  From  thence  he  made  a  quick  passage  to  San  Francisco  Bay,  where  he  arrived 
on  the  14th  of  November,  and  was  rejoined  in  the  following  week  by  Mr.  Broughton,  who  had 
returned  in  the  Chatham  after  exploring  the  Columbia  River.  He  safely  passed  the  bar  of  that 
river  and  anchored  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  inside  of  it.  Seeing  the  Discovery  put  to  sea  again 
Broughton  supposed  he  was  left  to  examine  further.  He  had  no  definite  instructions,  but  went  on 
eastward,  guided  at  the  outset  by  a  sketch  made  by  the  American,  Captain  Gray.  Broughton 
sounded  in  different  directions,  and  gave  names  to  several  points  and  bays.  Young's  Bay  and 
Young's  River  he  named  after  Sir  George  Young,  of  the  Royal  Navy ;  Gray's  Bay  he  named  in 
compliment  to  the  American  captain,  and  Baker's  Bay  for  the  commander  of  a  small  vessel,  the 
Jenney,  which  had  entered  the  Columbia  before  the  Chatham.  In  the  course  of  ten  days  Broughton 
went  about  80  miles  up  the  river,  and  gave  names  to  several  points,  islands,  and  branches.  It  is 
now  difficult  to  identify  the  places,  as  the  sketch  .published  by  Vancouver  (plate  5  of  his  atlas) 
contains  only  a  few  of  the  names.  But  this  is  not  important.  It  suffices  to  state  that  he  went  up 
the  river  nearly  to  the  great  mountain  range,  and  only  a  few  leagues  west  from  the  Cascades, 
which  were  described  to  him  by  an  Indian.  He  named  the  place  at  which  he  turned  back  Point 
Vancouver.  Possibly  the  river  Mannings,  of  Broughton,  may  be  the  Willamette,  but  the  latitudes 
do  not  agree  closely. 

On  the  4th  of  November  Mr.  Broughtou  was  again  on  board  the  Chatham.     He  put  to  sea  on 
the  10th,  and  ten  days  afterwards  rejoined  Vancouver  at  San  Francisco. 

While  his  vessel  was  at  anchor  at  the  entrance  of  Gray's  Harbor,  Whidbey  had  examined  the 
bar  in  boats,  and  finding  a  channel  of  18  feet  he  passed  in  and  moored  off  the  north  point  of  the 
entrance.  From  that  place  he  began  his  exploration  in  boats  and  completed  it  on  the  26th.  The 
north  point  of  entrance  he  named  Point  Brown,  in  honor  of  Captain,  afterwards  Admiral  Brown, 
of  the  British  navy.  The  southern  was  named  Point  Hanson,  for  the  lieutenant  who  had  com 
manded  the  Daedalus  in  the  passage  from  England.  To  a  point  inside  of  the  bay  4  miles  east  of 
Point  Brown  he  gave  the  name  Point  New,  after  the  master  of  his  vessel.  Mr.  Whidbey  left 
probably  on  the  27th  of  October,  and  rejoined  his  commander  at  Monterey  about  the  middle  of 
November.  Vancouver  remained  at  San  Francisco  Bay  only  to  make  a  sketch  of  the  entrance, 
and  some  visits  to  the  neighboring  missions.  He  left  on  the  25th  of  November,  and  "delineating 
the  coast,"  proceeded  to  Monterey,  where  he  arrived  on  the  26th  and  remained  until  the  end  of  the 
year  1792,  occupied  in  exploring  the  vicinity  and  preparing  charts,  drawings,  reports,  and  letters 
for  England.  He  determined  the  longitude  of  his  observatory,  near  the  Presidio  of  Monterey,  from 
a  series  of  nearly  two  hundred  sets  of  observations,  to  be  238°  25'  45"  east.  "This  result"  Vancou 
ver  remarks,  "  differs  considerably  from  that  of  Malaspiua,  who  places  Monterey  35  miles  farther 
to  the  west,  in  237°  51',  and  he  also  places  the  northern  promontory  of  Cape  Mendocino  26',  and 
Point  de  los  Reyes  33'  farther  to  the  westward  of  their  positions  as  shown  by  our  observations.' 
By  Vancouver's  calculations  the  entire  coast  of  North  America  was  uniformly  moved  about  30 


5(J6  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVKY. 

miles  eastward  of  the  longitude  assigned  by  Cook  and  Malaspinu.  "  These"  says  Vancouver,  "  are 
authorities  which  demand  the  greatest  respect  and  confidence,  yet  from  the  uninterrupted  serenity 
of  the  weather  that  prevailed  at  the  time  our  observations  were  made,  I  have  been  induced  to 
adopt  the  meridian  obtained  from  the  result  of  our  own  observations." 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1793,  Vancouver  left  Monterey  and  sailed  directly  for  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  where  he  remained  until  the  end  of  March,  and  then  set  out  on  a  second  voyage.  He  made 
the  coast  near  Cape  Mendocino,  and  having  on  his  first  visit  in  1792  passed  Port  Trinidad  unnoticed, 
which,  according  to  the  Admiralty  Register  of  1781,  "  appeared  to  be  an  eligible  place  for  shipping," 
he  entered  it  on  the  2d  of  May,  and  anchored  in  "  a  small  open  cove,  bounded  by  detached  rocks." 
"When  moored,"  hesays,"  the  bearings  from  the  ships  were  a  high,  steep,  rounding,  rocky  headland, 
(Trinidad  Head)  forming  the  bay,  bearing  N.  75°  W.,  distant  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  and  the  dis 
tant  headland  of  Mendocino  in  sight  towards  the  south."  This  description  proves  that  the  vessel 
was  in  the  little  cove  on  the  shore  of  which  now  stands  the  town  of  Trinidad.  All  hidden  dangers 
there  have  been  developed  in  the  work  of  the  Coast  Survey,  but  Vancouver  reported  it  to  be  "  a 
very  unsafe  roadstead  for  shipping,  scarcely  deserving  the  denomination  of  a  port."  In  an  excur 
sion  to  the  shore  one  of  his  officers  found  the  cross  which  had  been  erected  by  the  Spaniards  under 
Quadra  y  Bodega  in  1775,  bearing  the  inscription  "Carolus  III  Dei  G.  Hyspaniarum  Ilex."  On 
the  5th  of  May  he  again  stood  out  to  sea  and  sailed  for  Nootka. 

Between  the  islands  of  Vancouver  and  Queen  Charlotte's  there  is  a  large  gulf.  The  last 
named  island  stretches  some  of  its  promontories  far  to  the  west  aiid  advances  more  into  the  ocean 
than  other  islands  of  that  region.  Hence  it  was  one  of  the  first  chosen  for  exploration.  Towards 
the  east  and  nearer  to  the  mainland  lies  a  labyrinth  of  islands,  inlets,  channels,  and  long 
peninsulas,  which,  up  to  the  time  now  under  review,  had  been  considered  as  part  of  the  continent. 
Vancouver  entered  these  waters,  and  in  this  was  preceded  only  by  one  navigator,  the  Spanish 
captain,  Coamano,  whose  observations  were  useful  to  the  English  navigator.  The  Spaniard,  of 
whose  voyage  further  mention  will  be  made  presently,  sailed  from  Mexico  when  the  Sutil  and 
Mexicana  started,  and  in  the  course  of  six  months  surveyed  many  parts  of  the  archipelagos  of 
Eevillagigedo,  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  &c.  Some  of  the  names  given  by  him  were  retained  by 
Vancouver,  which  proves  that  he  must  have  known  something  of  Coamafio's  results  and  was 
materially  assisted  by  his  charts,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Humboldt,  he  probably  had  on  board. 
But  much  the  greatest  degree  of  merit  regarding  these  explorations  must  be  acci/ided  to  Van 
couver.  Here  in  the  north,  as  formerly  in  the  south,  near  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  and  at  the  mouth 
of  Columbia  River,  Vancouver  and  his  officers,  by  advancing  through  the  deeply  indented  inlets, 
approached  those  remarkable  mountains  that  run  along  the  northwest  coast  of  America.  A  few 
high  summits  of  the  coast  ranges  and  some  isolated  peaks  were  previously  known,  as,  for  example, 
Mount  Saint  Elias,  Mount  Fairweather,  Mount  Edgecumbe,  and  others;  but  the  interior  ranges 
had  never  been  seen  by  Europeans.  Vancouver  traced  them  from  California  northward  to  Russian 
America. 

On  the  8th  of  October  Vancouver  left  Nootka,  and  in  the  course  of  a  week  he  was  off  Cape 
Mendocino.  Lieutenant  Puget  was  sent  to  gain  information  concerning  Port  Bodega,  but  as  in  the 
year  previous,  inclement  weather  made  the  intended  survey  impracticable.  Vancouver  meanwhile 
went  to  San  Francisco,  but  the  Spanish  authorities  were  not  cordial,  and  he  kept  on  to  Monterey. 
On  the  5th  of  November  he  sailed  again  to  complete  his  examination  of  the  coast  southward  to  the 
30th  parallel,  as  enjoined  by  his  instructions.  lie  passed  along  to  Point  Conception  and  from 
thence  through  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  to  San  Diego.  Favored  by  circumstances  he  every 
where  approached  the  shore  line,  entered  little  harbors,  and  gave  names  to  several  points  which 
he  found  to  be  nameless  on  the  Spanish  maps,  as  Point  Sal,  Point  Arguello,  Point  Felipe,  Point 
Firmin,  Point  Vincente,  Point  Lasuen,  Point  Dume,  which  have  been  adopted  by  geographers,  and 
Vancouver  has  thus  commemorated  many  noble.and  hospitable  Spanish  friends,  both  officers  and 
missionaries,  Don  Sal,  Don  Arguello,  Don  Felipe  Goyeochea,  Father  Francisco  Dume,  Father 
Vincente,  and  Father  Lasuen,  each  of  whom  had  received  him  cordially  as  he  stopped  at  intervals 
in  passing  along  the  coast.  He  left  San  Diego  on  the  9th  of  December  and  coasted  as  far  as  San 
Francisco  entrance.  From  thence  he  stood  over  to  the  Island  of  Guadalupe  and  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  intending  to  make  his  winter  station  there  for  the  season  of  1793-'94. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  597 

Among  the  non-existing  waters  marked  011  maps,  even  after  the  time  of  Captain  Cook,  was 
that  deep  and  Marge  inlet  in  Russian  America,  called  Cook's  River.  It  had  been  mistaken  for 
the  mouth  of  a  great  stream  like  the  Saint  Lawrence.  Some  in  that  day  eagerly  caught  at  the 
idea,  and  with  no  knowledge  of  mountain  systems  they  gave  the  river  a  source  in  the  Great  Slave 
Lake.  Mackenzie,  it  is  true,  showed  that  the  waters  of  the  Slave  Lake  flowed  towards  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  but  space  remained  west  of  Mackenzie's  River  for  the  mythical  stream  once  known  as 
Cook's  River. 

On  his  third  northwestern  cruise,  in  the  summer  of  1794,  Vancouver  closely  examined  the  sur 
rounding  country  and  expunged  imaginary  rivers  which  had  been  marked  on  earlier  maps.  To 
the  one  last  mentioned  after  examination  he  gave  the  name  Cook's  Inlet,  its  proper  designation. 
But  he  omitted  some  that  were  important.  In  the  north,  as  twice  before  at  the  south,  he  was  thus 
unfortunate.  He  hud  doubted  the  existence  of  the  Columbia  River  until  Gray  proved  it,  and  he 
left  Frazer's  River  in  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  unexplored,  although  informed  of  its  character  by 
intelligent  Spanish  officers.  Of  the  Atna  or  Copper  River  of  the  Russians  he  says  nothing,  nor 
did  he  hear  anything  of  the  large  river  Yukon  or  Yukehanna. 

Vancouver  returned  to  Nootka,  and  passing  along  the  coast  of  California  he  again  made  some 
observations  of  importance;  but  he  was  anxious  to  visit  San  Diego.  That  station  being  central, 
all  his  calculations  for  determining  the  trend  of  the  coast  of  New  Albion  southward  of  the  thirtieth 
parallel  were  referred  to  it.  On  the  way  he  touched  at  two  points  for  connecting  and  correcting  his 
series  of  longitude  determinations,  at  the  island  of  Guadalupe,  the  position  of  which  he  had  previously 
ascertained,  and  at  Cape  San  Lucas.  There  the  French  expedition  under  Chappe  d'Auteroche  for 
observing  the  Transit  of  Venus  in  1709  had  settled  the  geographical  position  with  a  high  degree  of 
exactness;  and  finding  by  comparison  his  results  in  accordance  with  those  of  the  Spanish  and 
French  observers,  Vancouver  returned  to  Europe.  He  reached  England  in  the  summer  of  1795. 

Cook,  La  Perouse,  and  Malaspina  had  touched  the  western  coasi  here  and  there,  but  Vancouver 
was  the  first  in  attempting  a  continuous  survey.  The  Spanish  voyages  of  that  period,  even  when 
intended  to  aid  in  geographical  development,  were  commonly  mere  summer  excursions ;  but 
Vancouver  took  ample  time.  His  explorations  employed  three  summers  from  the  date  of  his  arrival 
at  the  northwest  in  April,  1792,  until  his  departure  in  September,  179-4.  Moreover,  many  of  the 
previous  expeditions  had  been  conducted  by  men  of  merely  ordinary  acquirements,  captains  of 
merchant  vessels  and  fur  traders,  like  Portlock,  Dixou,  Marchand,  Gray,  and  others,  who  of  course 
occasionally  made  discoveries  in  a  region  so  little  known.  Vancouver  and  his  companions  pos 
sessed  the  qualities  and  the  means  requisite  for  his  purposes.  He  had  been  trained  under  Captain 
Cook,  and  was  provided  with  the  best  instruments  then  known  for  making  useful  observations. 
The  period  of  his  survey  was  probably  the  most  active  in  the  history  of  western  exploration.  He 
states  that  in  17912  there  v^ere  upwards  of  twenty  fur-trading  vessels  on  the  coast,  and  exclusive 
of  his  own  three  ships,  the  Spaniard*  had  two  under  Valdez  and  Galiauo;  two  or  three  men  of 
war  under  Bodega  y  Quadra,  sent  to  Nootka  Sound ;  and  the  surveying  vessel  Arauzas,  under 
Captain  Caemano.  The  total  of  thirty  vessels  were  conducted  by  officers  of  ability,  and  were 
accompanied  by  astronomers.  All  contributed  to  make  those  hitherto  obscure  regions  better 
known.  No  former  time  had  gathered  siush  means  and  forces  for  coast  exploration. 

After  the  disclosures  made  by  Cook  in  1786  had  directed  attention  to  the  Northern  Pacific, 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  as  also  some  in  England,  France,  and  other  countries,  seut  expeditions 
to  that  promising  region  to  engage  in  tlie  fur  trade;  and  some  Americans  while  so  employed 
became  as  prominent  in  the  history  of  discovery  as  Marchand,  Meares,  and  Dixon,  of  whom  mention 
lias  bi-en  made.  Amongst  them,  the  Captains  Keudrick,  Gray,  and  Ingraham  are  best  known. 
But  few  of  the  American  captains  wrote  narratives  of  their  voyages.  All  probably  kept  log 
books  or  journals,  but  these  were  not  published,  and  probably  have  been  lost.  Of  Capt.  John 
Kendrick's  papers  none,  so  far  as  we  know,  have  been  published  or  even  preserved.  The  log  book 
of  Capt.  Robert  Gray  was  for  some  time  in  possession  of  his  heirs,  and  from  the  second  volume  a 
few  extracts  were  published  in  Boston,  but  nothing  is  now  known  of  the  manuscript.  The  journal 
of  Capt..  Joseph  Ingraham's  voyage  in  the  ship  Hope,  in  manuscript,  is  in  the*  library  of  the  State 
Department  in  Washington  City,  D.  C.  It  is  in  four  thin  folio  volumes,  very  well  written,  and 
contains  maps  of  Washington  Island,  as  he  calls  Queen  Charlotte's;  also  of  Vancouver  Island, 


598  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

and  of  the  coast  of  California,  drawn  from  information  given  by  Captain  Gray.  Much  information 
in  regard  to  the  explorations  of  the  earliest  American  navigators  in  this  direction  is  given  here 
and  there  in  the  reports  of  Dixon,  Meares,  Vancouver,  and  others. 

In  the  year  1787  some  Boston  merchants,  among  whom  were  Mr.  C.  Bulfinch  and  Mr.  J.  M. 
Pintard,  formed  an  association  for  combining  the  fur  trade  of  the  North  Pacific  with  the  China 
trade,  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  attempted  by  the  King  George's  Sound  Company  of  London. 
They  fitted  out  two  vessels  the  Columbia,  and  the  Washington,  with  requisites,  and  gave  the  direc 
tion  of  the  expedition  to  Captain  Kendrick,  with  whom,  in  the  Columbia,  Ingraham  went  as  mate. 
Gray  had  command  of  the  Washington,  and  both  were  provided  with  sea  letters  issued  by  the 
Federal  Government,  and  the  vessels  sailed  from  Boston  on  the  30th  of  September,  1787.  Green- 
how,  in  his  work  on  Oregon  and  California,  gives  ample  information  in  regard  to  the  voyages  of 
Kendrick,  Gray  and  Ingraham. 

In  January,  1788,  they  doubled  Cape  Horn  and  immediately  afterwards  the  vessels  were 
separated  by  a  violent  storm ;  Captain  Gray,  in  the  Washington,  made  the  northwest  coast  in 
latitude  46  degrees  north,  and  reached  an  inlet  or  coast  opening  which  he  tried  but  in  vain  to  enter. 
This  was  probably  the  mouth  of  Columbia  Itivcr.  On  the  bar  his  vessel  grounded,  and  was 
attacked  by  the  natives;- but  he  got  off  without  much  injury,  and  on  the  17th  of  September  he 
arrived  at  Nootka  Sound,  the  place  of  rendezvous,  where  he  was  soon  followed  by  Captain  Kendrick 
in  the  Columbia.  Occupied  with  transactions  in  the  fur  trade,  the  vessels  remained  in  harbor 
during  the  winter  of  1788-'S9.  The  Columbia  passed  the  following  summer  there,  but  the  Wash 
ington  made  trips  to  the  north  and  south,  exploring  the  country,  and  collecting  furs,  which  Gray 
from  time  to  time  deposited  at  Nootka.  In  one  of  his  trading  excursions  (June,  1789)  he  explored 
the  eastern  coast  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  The  western  shore  had  been  seen  by  the  Spaniard 
Perez,  in  1774,  by  the  French  under  La  Pe>ouse  in  1786,  and  by  the  English,  Captain  Dixon,  in 
1787,  who  had  also  observed  partially  along  the  east  side  and  discovered  the  broad  strait  which 
separates  it  from  the  continent.  He  called  the  island  Queen  Charlotte's,  and  the  channel  Dixon's 
Strait. 

Not  knowing  the  facts  which  have  just  been  stated,  Captain  Gray  believed  himself  to  be  the 
discoverer  of  the  great  island,  the  eastern  coast  of  which  he  saw  and  followed  further  than  either 
of  his  predecessors.  He  touched  also  at  many  points  along  the  shore,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
Washington  Island,  and  that  designation  was  in  use  for  some  years  among  the  fur  traders  of  the 
United  States. 

In  one  of  his  voyages  from  Nootka  to  the  south,  Gray  entered  the  strait  discovered  by  Captain 
Berkeley  in  1787,  and  by  him  named  De  Fuca  Strait.  Gray  sailed  in  it  about  50  miles,  and  under 
stood  from  the  natives  that  it  extended  farther  north,  and  then  returned  towards  the  Pacific. 
Gray  afterwards  related  this  to  Vancouver,  but  he  nowhere  states  why  he  did  not  pursue  this 
promising  opening.  On  his  return  to  Nootka  he  found  Capuiin  Keudrick  preparing  to  sail  with 
furs  for  China,  but  after  hearing  the  account  given  by  Gray  respecting  the  Strait  of  Fuca  it  was 
decided  that  the  latter  should  take  the  Columbia  across  to  China,  while  Kendrick  remained  with 
the  Washington  on  the  northwest  coast. 

Gray  arrived  at  Canton  on  the  6th  of  December,  1789,  sold  his  furs,  and  returning  with  a 
cargo  of  tea  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  reached  Boston  on  the  10th  of  August,  1790, 
having  carried  the  flag  of  United  States  around  the  world.  What  Captain  Kendrick  did  mean 
while  is  not  exactly  known.  Mr.  Greenhow  says  that  oh  parting  with  the  Columbia  he  sailed  in 
the  Washington  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  was  the  first  navigator  who  passed  through  its  entire 
length  into  the  Gulf  of  Georgia.  We  will  therefore  briefly  recapitulate  what  is  known  certainly  in 
regard  to  Keudrick's  movements,  voyages,  and  fate,  after  his  separation  from  Gray  in  the  autumn 
of  1781). 

We  know  that  after  the  separation  he  engaged  in  speculations,  one  of  which  was  the  collection 
of  the  odoriferous  sandal-wood  which  grows  on  many  islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  that  he  took  the 
wood  to  China.  He  purchased  several  tracts  of  land  near  Nootka  from  the  Indian  chief  Maguinna, 
and  he  was  again  at  Nootka  in  the  summer  of  1791.  In  that  same  summer  Captain  Gray  returned 
to  Vancouver  Island  and  passed  the  following  winter  at  Clyoquot  Sound.  It  is  probable  that  he 
went  once  or  twice  to  Nootka  and  there  saw  and  conferred  with  his  former  commander.  At  the 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  599 

end  of  the  year  1791  Keiidrick  probably  sailed  for  China,  as  early  in  the  ensuing  year  he  was  seen 
there  by  Captain  Ingrahani,  of  the  American  ship  Hope,  who  had  been  at  Macao  since  the  1st  of 
December.  Iiigraham  had  previously  sailed  with  Keiidrick  as  mate,  and  of  course  had  some  con 
versation  with  him,  as  explicitly  stated  in  his  journal.  Kendrick  was  killed  by  an  accident  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands  in  the  year  1793.  So  far  as  we  know  he  made  no  important  discoveries,  but  his 
countryman,  Robert  Gray,  made  several.  The  anonymous  author  of  three  letters  from  California 
called  ''  Noticias  de  la  Provincia  de  Californias  "  (not  to  be  confounded  with  the  noticias  of  Venegas) 
says  that  the  viceroy  of  Spain  had  sent  out  letters  to  all  the  missions,  directing  that  notice  should 
be  given  to  the  Indians  of  a  certain  American-Englishman  named  Juan  Kendrig,  sailing  about 
their  coast,  who  bad  coined  and  issued  money  in  his  OWH  name,  and  ordering  them  to  seize  him 
wherever  they  could. 

The  results  of  Gray's  commercial  operations  were  not  large,  but  he  sailed  again  in  the  ship 
Columbia  from  Boston  on  the  28th  of  September,  1790.  Several  other  vessels  sailed  at  about  the 
same  time  from  that  port  and  from  New  York,  bound  for  the  North  Pacific,  and  amongst  them  was 
the  brig  Hope,  commanded  by  Joseph  Ingraham,  formerly  mate  of  the  Columbia. 

On  his  second  northwestern  voyage  Gray  arrived  at  Clyaquot  (Vancouver  Island)  on  the  5th 
of  June,  1791,  as  stated  by  Greenhow.  From  thence  he  went  to  higher  latitudes  and  returned  in 
the  autumn  to  Clyaquot,  where  he  built  a  fort  (Fort  Defiance)  and  passed  the  winter  of  1791-'92. 
In  the  following  spring  he  made  a  trip  southward  along  the  coast  of  New  Albion.  At  the  outset, 
on  the  29th  of  April,  1792,  he  met  Vancouver  and  conversed  with  him  respecting  the  Strait  of 
Fuca  and  a  certain  great  river  (Columbia  River),  to  which  allusion  has  already  been  made. 

After  parting  with  Vancouver  Gray  went  southward.  On  the  7th  of  May  he  discovered  in 
latitude  46°  58'  north  an  inlet  which  seemed  to  promise  a  good  harbor.  He  entered  and  found 
himself  in  a  bay  "  well  sheltered  from  the  sea  by  long  sand-bars  and  spits."  There  he  remained 
three  days,  trading  with  the  natives,  and  named  the  place  Bulflnch  Harbor,  in  honor  of  one  of 
the  owners  of  his  vessel.  This  same  bay  was  afterwards  called  Gray's  Harbor  by  Vancouver. 

On  the  llth  of  May  Gray  was  again  near  the  entrance  seen  by  him  in  1788,  which  in  his  log 
book  is  styled  his  "  desired  port,"  probably  because  he  had  great  expectations  in  regard  to  it.  On 
passing  the  bar  he  found  the  entrance  of  a  large  river  of  fresh  water,  and  remained  ten  days 
trading  with  Indians.  According  to  his  log  book  the  exploration  then  made  was  prosecuted  to  a 
point  nearly  25  miles  by  the  river  course.  When  Gray  left  he  gave  to  the  river  the  name  Columbia 
River,  after  his  ship.  The  entrance  cape  he  called  Capes  Hancock  and  Point  Adams.  Soon  after 
wards  he  made  known  at  Nootka  Sound  the  discovery  of  Bulfinch  Harbor  and  Columbia  River 
to  the  Spanish  commander  Quadra,  and  subsequently  to  Vancouver,  who  ordered  a  further 
exploration  of  the  vicinity. 

From  Nootka  Sound  Gray  returned,  by  the  way  of  China,  to  the  United  States. 

Captain  Ingraham,  in  the  ship  Hope,  left  Boston  in  September,  1790.  While  crossing  the 
Pacific  he  touched  at  a  group  of  unknown  islands,  and  then  went  northward  to  Queen  Charlotte's. 
He  made  a  second  voyage  to  that  island  in  1792.  The  journal  of  his  voyages  is  important,  as  it 
preserves  notices  of  other  American  explorers,  chiefly  of  Kendrick  and  Gray ;  and  from  the  last 
named  communicates  a  map  of  Vancouver  Island  and  the  coast  of  California.  In  1793  Ingraham 
returned,  by  way  of  China,  to  the  United  States.  Subsequently  he  was  an  officer  on  board  the 
ill-fated  ship  Pickering,  which  was  never  heard  of  after  sailing  from  the  Delaware  in  August  1800. 

GALIANO  AND  VALDEZ,  1792. 

An  account  of  the  voyage  made  with  the  galiots  Sutil  and  Mexicana  was  published  at  Madrid 
in  the  year  1802.  The  introduction  to  the  narrative  was  written  by  the  Spanish  histori 
ographer  and  director  of  the  archives,  Navarrete,  bat  the  name  of  the  author  of  the  account  is 
not  mentioned.  The  atlas  which  accompanies  it  contains  charts,  plans,  and  views ;  and  of  these 
the  most  interesting  in  this  connection  are  the  first  plate,  showing  the  coast  of  California  from 
Cape  Perpetua  to  Cape  San  Lucas;  the  second,  on  which  is  given  the  remainder  of  the  coast  of 
California  and  Vancouver  Island ;  the  fourth  contains  a  reduced  copy  of  the  old  survey  of  the 
coast  of  Calfornia  by  Vizcaino  in  1G02;  and  the  fifth  and  sixth  give  plans  of  the  harbors  of  San 
Diego  and  Monterey. 


600  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

The  most  valuable  part  of  this  work  is  the  introduction.  Compared  with  Vancouver's  the 
narrative  is  meager  and  uninteresting  and  the  charts  are  inferior,  only  that  of  Vizcaino  having 
any  special  historical  interest.  They  are  not  equal  to  the  Spanish  charts  given  in  the  Madrid 
atlas  of  that  period. 

Malaspina  was  on  the  northwest  coast  in  the  year  1791,  but  had  not  time  to  examine  the  Strait 
of  Fuca.  After  his  return  to  Mexico  he  submitted  to  the  viceroy  a  plan  for  the  examination  of 
certain  important  places,  and  offered  to  furnish  the  expedition  with  instruments  from  liis  vessels. 
This  proposition  was  accepted.  The  galiots  Sntil  and  Mexicana  were  fitted  out,  and  placed  under 
the  command  of  the  captains  Don  Dionisio  Alcada  Galiano  and  Don  Cayelano  Valdez.  It  was 
the  last  of  Spanish  expeditions.  The  equipment  was  meager.  The  vessels  were  each  only  about 
'50  feet  long,  of  less  than  50  tons  burden,  and  were  navigated  by  only  twenty-four  men.  Each 
ship  had  one  chronometer,  and  a  single  quadrant  did  service  for  both  of  the  vessels.  Vancouver 
was  amazed  at  the  sight  of  what  he  deemed  "  so  unfit  for  its  destination."  Both  Valdez  and  Gali- 
ano  complained  of  the  inconvenience  of  such  small  vessels.  They  sailed  from  Acapnlco  on  the  8th 
of  March,  1792,  traversed  the  coast  of  California  at  a  distance,  to  avoid  the  northwest  winds,  and 
arrived  at  Nootka  on  the  12th  of  May.  From  thence  they  sailed  on  the  3d  of  June,  and  on  the  5th 
entered  the  Strait  of  Fuca.  Tetacuo,  an  Indian  chief,  informed  them  that  Vancouver  had  been 
there  five  weeks  earlier,  with  two  large  ships. 

After  visiting  the  little  port  of  Nunez  Gaona  (Neah  Harbor),  the  Spaniards  passed  to  the 
eastern  part  of  the  strait  without  examining  Port  Discovery  or  any  other  harbor  of  that  vicinity, 
"  because  their  predecessor  Elisa  had  already  seen  them."  They  also  passed  by  Las  Bocas  de 
Caomano  (Admiralty  Inlet),  partly  for  such  reasons  as  had  induced  Elisa  to  leave  it  unexplored 
and  partly  because  it  was  thought  that  the  inlet  might  lead  in  a  southwestern  direction  to  the 
inlet  of  Heceta  (mouth  of  Columbia  Eiver),  and  if  so,  it  could  be  more  conveniently  examined  on 
their  return. 

Hastening  therefore  to  Eosario  Strait,  to  reach  as  soon  as  possible  the  point  at  which  Elisa 
closed  the  survey,  they  sailed  for  the  southern  point  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  having  doubled  it, 
kept  along  the  southern  shores  of  the  archipelago  De  Haro,  passed  the  island  of  Guemes,  and 
entered  the  Seno  de  Gaston  (Bellingham  Bay),  to  see  if  there  was  not  a  channel  leading  from  it  to 
the  north.  Finding  no  outlet  they  made  their  way  to  what  Elisa  in  1791,  had  called  Canal  de 
Florida  Blanca,  in  hope  that  it  might  lead  to  something  yet  undiscovered.  Elisa  had  mentioned  the 
existence  of  a  river  in  that  region,  which  river,  according  to  Vancouver,  he  called  Rio  Blancho. 
There  they  of  necessity  repeated  Vancouver's  movements.  Finding  turbid  water  (aguas  turbias) 
and  very  shallow  soundings,  they  were  driven  by  currents,  and  went  over  to  the.  eastern  side  of 
Vancouver  Island  to  seek  for  an  anchorage.  There  they  passed  several  days  in  different  roadsteads 
to  which  they  gave  names,  after  marking  shore  lines  on  the  chart. 

Elisa  had  represented  the  country  about  the  mouth  of  Fraser  River  as  composed  of  islands. 
The  ridge  of  snow-clad  mountains  to  the  eastward  seemed  to  be  broken  in  the  direction  taken  by 
the  Canal  de  Florida  Blanca,  showing  a  broad  valley ;  and  it  was  judged  that  the  canal  there 
passed  the  mountains  and  led  into  another  sea.  But  Fraser  River  was  not  examined,  either  by 
Vancouver,  Valdez,  or  Galiano.  In  the  previous  year  Elisa  appears  to  have  seen  something  of  it, 
as  on  his  map  it  is  laid  down  as  a  river.  While  Galiauo  and  Valdez  were  near  its  mouth,  they 
met  the  boats  of  Vancouver  and  conversed  with  his  officers.  The  two  parties  at  length  joined,  and 
completed  the  survey  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia.  The  Spanish  report  states  that  the  Spaniards  did 
the  best  they  could  to  follow  their  English  friends,  but  always  were  somewhat  behind  in  consequence 
of  the  inferiority  of  the  Spanish  vessels.  They  entered  the  Pacific  through  the  strait  named  on 
their  chart  Salida  de  las  Goletas.  This  is  south  of  the  island  marked  on  Vancouver's  chart  as 
Island  of  Galiauo  and  Valdez.  On  the  27th  of  August  they  sailed  around  Vancouver  Island, 
and  on  the  31st  arrived  at  Nootka.  On  the  10th  of  August  Vancouver  entered  the  Pacific,  and 
after  making  some  explorations  at  the  north  of  the  island,  leached  Nootka  on  the  28th  of  the  same 
mouth.  The  English  certainly  preceded  in  navigating  entirely  around  the  island ;  but  it  was  agreed 
between  the  commanders  that  it  should  bear  the  name  Quadra  and  Vancouver  Island. 

On  the  1st  day  of  September  Galiano  and  Valdez  left  Nootka  to  cruise  along  the  coast  of 
California  towards  Monterey,  and  to  survey  places  pointed  out  by  their  instructions.  Like  Van- 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

couver,  the;)  heard  at  Nootka  of  a  newly  discovered  port  (Gray's  Harbor),  and  of  a  large  river 
rnoutli  (Columbia  River),  discovered  by  the  American  Captain  Gray.  The  intention  was  to 
examine  both,  but  owing  to  the  bad  condition  of  their  vessels  the  purpose  was  found  impracti 
cable.  With  their  small  craft  and  unfavorable  wind  and  weather  they  made  their  way  south, 
touched  at  San  Francisco,  Monterey,  and  San  Diego,  and  arrived  at  San  Bias  ou  the  23d  of 
November.  Ilumboldt  mentions  these  Spanish  officers  as  "  fble  and  experienced  astronomers  "; 
but  they  recorded  no  observation  or  discovery  worthy  of  mention. 

In  the  Strait  of  l;uca  the  commauders  Galiauo  and  Valdez  had  been  preceded  by  Quimper, 
Elisa,  and  Vancouver,  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  they  were  assisted  by  the  English.  Spanish 
charts  with  early  designations  were  published  in  1*02,  but  Vancouver's  charts,  much  superior  in 
detail,  came  out  in  1798,  and  thus  were  established  the  names  which  he  had  attached  to  places  in 
the  region. 

CAAMANO,  1792. 

Brief  mention  will  suffice  of  an  expedition  by  Don  Jaciuto  Caamafio  in  the  Spanish  ship 
Arau/azu.    This  voyage,  like  that  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana,  was  ordered  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico 
Count  Revillagigedo,  and  was  suggested  by  Malaspina,  who  judged  that  somewhere  about  Port 
Bueareli,  in  latitude  5(>  degrees  north,  and  behind  Queen  Charlotte's  Island  might  be  found  the 
open  water  of  Admiral  Fonte.  • 

Caamafio  left  San  Bias  on  the  20th  of  March,  a  fortnight  later  than  Galiano  and  Valdez. 
Like  them  he  traversed  the  coast  of  California,  and  he  arrived  at  Nootka  on  the  14th  of  May. 
From  thence  lie  went  north  and  passed  around  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  Many  observations  were 
made  on  the  neighboring  shores  of  the  American  continent.  These,  as  Ilumboldt  remarks,  were 
useful  to  Vancouver,  but  they  are  beyond  the  boundary  of  our  present  research.  On  his  return 
in  October,  1792,  Caamafio,  sailing  with  northwestern  winds  along  the  coast  of  California,  touched 
at  several  points,  but  seems  to  have  added  nothing  to  the  stock  of  information.  He  reached  San 
Bias  on  the  4th  of  November,  where,  a  fortnight  after,  Galiauo  and  Valdez  arrived  with  the  Sutil 
and  Mexicana.  In  these  the  Spanish  Government  ended  a  long  series  of  exertions  for  exploring 
the.  northwest  coast.  Beginning  with  Ulloa  and  Cortes,  a  period  of  nearly  three  hundred  years 
had  been  marked  by  activity  in  geographical  development. 

CAPT.  VV.  R.  BROUGHTON,  1795-'98. 

Bronghton's  voyage  was  from  its  outset  very  unfortunate.  He  had  been  with  Vancouver  in 
the  North  Pacific,  and,  as  already  stated,  was  in  command  of  one  of  the  vessels  (the  Chatham)  of 
Vancouver's  expedition.  After  examining  the  Columbia  River,  Broughton  went  overland  across 
Mexico  by  direction  of  Vancouver,  with  communications  respecting  transactions  with  the  Spanish 
authorities  at  Nootka  Sound.  Affairs  were  settled  amicably  by  the  willingness  of  Spain  to  yield 
possession  to  Great  Britain.  The  surrender  had  been  refused  during  the  stay  of  Vancouver. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1793  the  ship  Providence  was  put  in  charge  of  Broughton.  He  was 
directed  to  proceed  to  the  Pacific,  visit  Nootka,  and  receive  possession  of  that  port  in  case  the 
restitution  ito  Great  Britain  had  not  been  previously  made.  He  was  also  instructed  from  the 
Admiralty  to  survey  the  western  coast  of  South  America  between  Valdivia  and  the  Strait  of 
Magellan  "  upon  the  supposition  that  Captain  Vancouver,  who  had  similar  orders,  would  not  have 
been  able  to  fulfil  them." 

After  many  delays  Broughton  sailed  from  England  in  February,  L795,  before  the  return  of 
Vancouver,  and  arrived  at  Nootka  (from  the  Sandwich  Islands)  on  the  15th  of  March ,  1796,  and 
found  the  place  at  which  activity  had  been  manifested  for  years  almost  deserted.  An  Indian 
village  was  on  the  site  of  the  early  Spanish  settlement,  and  several  letters,  delivered  by  the  Indian 
chief  Maguinna,  informed  Broughton  that  the  Spaniards  had  delivered  the  port  to  the  English 
Lieutenant  Pierce.  It  was  also  stated  that  Vancouver  had  sailed  for  England. 

His  vessel  needing  repairs,  Broughton  could  not  leave  Nootka  until  the  21st  of  May.     He  then 
sailed,  and  visited  Monterey,  but  received  no  attention  from  the  Spanish  officers  there,  and  was 
not  even  allowed  to  set  up  a  tent  on  shore  for  the  astronomical  observations  needful  to  settle  the 
H  Ex  43 7C 


602  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

rates  of  his  watches.  He  ascertained  definitely  that  Vancouver  had  left  about  eighteen  months 
before,  and  that  his  two  ships  had  been  in  good  condition  at  Monterey.  Further,  that  he  had 
sailed  from  Valparaiso  to  survey  the  lower  part  of  the  western  coast  of  South  America.  Broughton, 
thus  apparently  left  to  his  own  discretion,  decided  to  survey  part  of  the  coast  of  Asia,  and  to  that 
end  he  sailed  from  Monterey  on  the  20th  of  June  for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  His  ship  was  wrecked, 
but  he  made  some  useful  surveys  in  the  region  to  which  La  Perouse  sailed  from  California.  He 
returned  to  England  in  1799. 

LEWIS  AND  CLARKE,  1804-'OC. 

In  January,  1803,  President  Jefferson  sent  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  a  confidential 
message  recommending  the  examination  of  the  interior  and  far  western  region  pertaining  to  the 
republic.  The  suggestion  was  approved,  and  he  commissioned  Captains  Meriwether  Lewis  and 
William  Clarke  to  explore  the  Upper  Missouri  River  and  its  principal  branches,  and  then  to  seek 
and  trace  to  its  termination  some  river,  the  Columbia,  the  Oregon,  or  any  other  which  might  offer  the 
most  direct  and  practicable  water  communication  across  the  continent  for  the  purposes  of  commerce. 

Soon  after  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  the  travelers  named  set  out  westward 
from  Saint  Louis,  with  a  party  of  about  forty  men,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1804.  They  went  up  the 
Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  Yellowstone  River,  and  the  upper  heads  of  the  last  mentioned  stream 
were  explored  in  1805.  In  July  they  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  reached  the  headwaters 
of  the  Columbia.  Following  its  course,  they  arrived  at  the  falls  of  the  river  in  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  and  on  the  2rt  of  November  came  to  tide-water  at  the  point  reached  by  Broughton, 
(Vancouver's  lieutenant)  in  1792.  Five  days  afterwards  Lewis  and  Clarke;  reached  Ihe  eastern 
extremity  of  the  estuary  of  the  Columbia,  and,  "the  fog  clearing  off,  enjoyed  for  the  first  time  the 
delightful  prospect  of  the  ocean."  The  broad  Pacific  was  before  them.  On  its  waters  they  rowed 
in  the  vicinity  of  Gray's  Harbor,  which  they  called  Shallow  Bay.  Cape  Disappointment  and  the 
adjacent  coast  were  examined.  They  rounded  Tongue  Point  (naming  it  on  their  map  Point 
Williams)  and  selected  for  their  winter  encampment  a  place  near  their  river  Netul,  which  on 
later  maps  bears  the  name  Lewis  and  Clarke's  River.  This  empties  into  Young's  Bay.  There, 
on  the  8th  of  December,  they  commenced  building  a  cam]),  which  on  completion  was  named  Fort 
Clatsop,  and  after  passing  the  winter  they  began  their  homeward  journey  on  the  23d  of  March,  180f>. 

Throughout  the  winter  they  had  much  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  and  made  many  hunting 
and  exploring  excursions  to  the  interior  and  along  the  coast.  They  noted  the  winter  climate,  the 
rainy  season  of  that  region,  the  animals,  and  indigenous  productions,  many  of  the  vegetables 
being  unknown  at  the  east. 

Amongst  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  the  shores  of  the  Columbia  River  were  the  Clatsops,  Killa- 
mucks,  Chinooks,  and  the  Cathlametes. 

Of  the  excursions  made,  one  of  the  most  interesting  was  led  by  Captain  Clarke.  On  that 
journey  they  ascended  on  the  8th  of  January,  1800,  a  high  and  rugged  headland  of  the  coast.  It 
was  named  Clarke's  Point  of  View,  and  is  doubtless  identical  with  Tillamook  head  on  charts  of 
the  United  States  Coast  Survey. 

Before  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  Lewis  and  Clarke  put  on  paper  a  fchort  memo 
randum  of  their  journey  to  the  Pacific,  distributed  copies  to  the  Indians,  and  posted  a  copy  at 
Fort  Clatsop.  (.  ne  of  these  papers  was  subsequently  given  by  the  natives  to  Captain  Hill,  an 
American,  who  in  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1806  was  on  the  Columbia  River.  The  paper  went 
to  China,  and  was  seen  by  Americans  in  Canton  before  the  close  of  the  year. 

On  the  23d  of  March  Lewis  and  Clarke  started  eastward,  following  at  first  the  route  pursued 
in  approaching  the  Pacific.  The  company  afterwards  separated  into  parties  to  examine  valleys  of 
the  Upper  Columbia,  but  the  parties  were  rejoined  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  all 
reached  Saint  Louis  on  the  23d  of  September,  1806.  By  this  memorable  expedition  an  immense 
river  system  and  a  large  section  of  the  American  continent  were  made  known  to  the  world.  It 
gave  impulse  to  movements,  American  as  well  as  English,  both  by  sea  and  land.  Many  profited 
by  the  facilities  pointed  out  by  Lewis  and  Clarke. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  603 

RUSSIAN  EXPEDITIONS,  180*-'06. 

The,  first  expedition  from  Russia  was  sent  out  at  the  instance  of  the  Chancellor  Count 
Romauzoff.  Two  ships,  the  Nadeschda  and  the  Newa,  under  command  of  Capt.  A.  T.  von 
Krusenste.rn,  sailed  from  St.  Petersburg  in  August,  1803.  The  Newa  was  in  charge  of  Capt. 
U.  Lysiansky,  and  each  vessel  pursued  its  own  course,  making  different  explorations  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Russian  Asia  and  America  in  the  years  1804  and  1805.  With  the  expedition 
went  as  envoy  to  the  Emperor  of  Japan,  the  Russian  Chamberlain  Vou  Rezanoff.  But  that 
Asiatic  power  strictly  maintained  its  system  of  non-intercourse  with  other  nations,  and  declined 
the  proposed  mission,  and  the  envoy  in  consequence  was  taken  to  the  harbor  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul  in  Kaintchatka.  There  some  letters  from  St.  Petersburg  induced  him  to  visit  the  Aleutian 
Islands  and  northwest  coast  of  America.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  German  naturalist  Von 
Langsdorff,  who  afterwards  published  a  history  of  the  voyage.  The  passage  was  made  in  the  galiot 
Maria,  a  .slow  sailing  vessel  belonging  to  the  Russian  Fur  Company  from  Petro  Pawowsk.  Starting 
on  the  25th  of  June,  1805,  the  party  passed  along  the  Aleutian  Islands,  Alaska,  and  Kadiak, 
to  Norfolk  Sound  (Sitka),  and  there  arrived  on  the  7th  of  September.  Baranoff,  the  governor  of 
the  Russian  establish ments,  had  some  years  earlier  taken  possession,  had  built  a  fort  at  Sitka,  and 
made  it  the  central  station  of  Russo-American  dominion,  which  until  then  had  been  at  Kadiak. 
He  assembled  at  Sitka  many  Russian  fur-hunters  and  Aleutians,  and  the  company  was  further 
augmented  by  the  crew  of  the  Maria,  who  intended  to  pass  the  winter  in  port.  But  the  resources 
of  tlie  young  and  poorly  provided  colony  could  not  sustain  the  dependent  number.  A  disastrous 
famine  ensued  ;  sickness  prevailed  and  threatened  the  establishment  with  ruin,  when,  fortunately, 
the  American  vessel  Juno,  from  Bristol,  R.  I.,  arrived  with  a  cargo  of  provisions.  These  were 
immediately  purchased,  but  the  famine  was  thereby  only  averted  for  a  time.  At  length  Baranoff 
arid  Rezanoff  purchased  the  American  vessel,  in  order  to  bring  from  California  what  might  be 
indispensable  for  supporting  the  colony.  The  command  of  the  Juno  was  given  to  the  Russian 
lieutenants  Chwosdoff  and  Davidoff.  Rezauoff  and  the  naturalist,  Langsdorff',  weut  with  them, 
and  the  ship  left  Sitka  for  San  Francisco  on  the  8th  of  March,  1806.  The  passage  was  made 
tedious  by  sickness  amongst  the  Russian  sailors,  all  of  them  being  sick  with  scurvy.  They  never 
theless  tried  to  make  some  coast  examinations,  and  attempted  to  enter  the  mouth  of  Columbia 
River,  where  the  Russian  plenipotentiary  thought  of  founding  an  establisment.  An  opening  on 
the  coast,  supposed  by  them  to  mark  the  entrance  of  that  river,  was  examined  with  boats,  but  it 
was  soon  found  to  be  the  inlet  which  Vancouver  had  named  Gray's  Harbor.  Some  days  after 
(March  31)  the  Juno  was  at  anchor  off  Cape  Disappointment  with  a  very  sick  crew.  Next  day 
they  tried  to  enter,  but  observing  that  the  eastern  horizon  was  strongly  marked  with  surf,  and 
having  been  driven  by  the  currents  towards  Cape  Adams,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  get  away, 
and  take  advantage  of  the  favorable  northwest  wind.  They  therefore  sailed  direct  for  San 
Francisco,  and  entered  that  port  on  the  8th  of  April. 

.The  transactions  of  Von  Rezanoff  and  his  officers  at  San  Francisco  were  mostly  commercial  and 
political.  At  the  Spanish  mission  offers  were  made  to  exchange  the  woolen  stuffs  and  other  goods 
bought  with  the  cargo  of  the  Juno  for  flour,  meat,  and  vegetables,  and  to  establish  by  treaty 
a  lasting  commerce  between  the  missions  and  the  Russian  settlements.  They  had  with  them  Van 
couver's  maps,  which  were  found  serviceable,  and  also  a  tracing  of  the  survey  made  by  La  Perous*c 
at  San  Francisco  Bay.  Langsdorff  made  some  useful  .observations  in  geography  and  natural 
history.  He  visited  the  south  part  of  the  bay  in  a  boat,  and  he  is  the  only  authority  we  have  in 
regard  to  the  condition  of  the  Franciscan  missions  in  1806,  and  also  respecting  their  undertakings 
jii  earlier  years. 

This  expedition  is  moreover  of  interest  because  the  Russians,  failing  in  the  plan  for  establish- 
lishing  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Californians,  conceived  the  idea  of  planting  a  colony  of 
their  own  on  the  coast.  On  the  12th  of  May  tho  party  left  San  Francisco,  and  without  delay 
returned  with  their  provisions  to  Sitka,  where  they  airjved  on  the  20th  of  June.  This  was  the  first 
Russian  expedition  to  California  of  which  we  have  accurate  information. 


(504  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

FUR  COMPANIES,  1806-'21. 

The  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  was  noticed  with  deep  interest  by  explorers  and  fur-t  radcrs. 
Some  existing  companies  revived  and  others  were  organized  for  prospective  gains  in  the  recently 
opened  country. 

The  Northwest  Company,  then  active  and  enterprising,  Jiad,  while  Lewis  and  Clarke  were  in 
motion,  sent  parties  towards  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  had  crossd  them  in  1793,  when  their  agent, 
Mr.  A.  Mackenzie,  arrived  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Another  agent,  Mr.  Simon  Eraser,  crossed  the 
mountains  in  1806  at  the  source  of  the  river  which  bears  his  name,  and  established  a  settlement, 
which  was  called  New  Caledonia.  Mr.  D.  W.  Harmon  traveled  as  chief  agent  of  the  Northwest 
Company  during  several  years  beyond  the  mountains.  Though  his  book  (published  in  London  in 
1820)  is  simply  written,  it  contains  interesting  information  in  regard  to  the  country  east  of  Van 
couver  Island,  and  of  that  around  the  Strait  of  Euca,  and  also  the  Columbia  River.  It  is  in  many 
matters  connected  with  discoveries  in  that  region  the  only  source  of  authentic  information.  The  map 
accompanying  it is  the  first  on  which  Fraser  River  is  laid  down  in  its  true  course. 

A  Missouri  fur  company  was  formed  in  1808  for  settlements  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  one 
of  its  agents,  Mr.  Henry,  founded  a  post  on  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Upper  Columbia,  but  the 
post  was  soon  abandoned. 

In  1810  Captain  Smith,  from  Boston,  entered  the  Columbia  and  built  a  house  40  miles  above  the 
mouth,  but  the  house  was  destroyed  within  twelve  months,  as  stated  in  Greenhow's  "Oregon  and 
California,"  page  291. 

At  the  period  here  under  notice  John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York,  established  the  Pacific 
Fur  Company.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  President  Jefferson,  who  had  originated  the  expedi 
tion  of  Lewis  and  Clarke.  Mr.  Astor  enlisted  expert  Canadian,  Scotch,  and  American  travelers 
and  sailors  who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Northwest  Company.  Ho  sent  out  in  1809  the  ship 
Enterprize,  under  Captain  Ebbets,  to  make  observations  at  several  places  on  the  northwest  coast  of 
America ;  but  no  detailed  account  has  been  given  of  that  voyage. 

On  the  2d  of  September,  1810,  a  second  sea  expedition,  in  the  ship  Tonqnin,  was  sent  to  the 
mouth  of  Columbia  River  by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  under  Capt.  T.  Thorne.  The  best  account  of  this 
expedition  is  given  in  "  Adventures  on  the  Columbia  River,  by  Ross  Cox."  That  book  details  events 
which  occurred  in  Oregon  between  the  years  1810  and  1816.  Another  is  entitled.  "  Re'ation  d'un 
voyage  a  la.  cote  Nord  Ouest  dan  les  anne'es,  1810-1814,  par  Gabriel  Franchere.  Montreal,  1820." 
Ross  Cox  and  Franchere  were,  for  the  most  part,  eye  witnesses  of  what  they  describe.  The  first 
named  came  to  the  Columbia  by  sea,  the  other  went  across  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  well  written 
accomit  of  the  operations  of  the  Pacific  Company  is  given  by  Greenhow. 

A  land  expedition  under  the  chief  agent,  Mr.  Hunt,  set  out  from  Saint  Louis  in  January,  1810, 
going  by  way  of  the  Missouri  River. 

An  expedition  in  the  ship  Beaver,  under  Capt.  Cornelius  Bowles,  sailed  in  October,  1811. 
These  were  all  attended  by  men  expert  in  their  several  ways  as  navigators,  scientific  observers, 
and  hunters.  Ross  Cox  went  as  clerk  in  this  expedition. 

While  the  Astorian  parties  were  on  their  way  the  Northwest  Company  also  advanced  towards 
the  Columbia  by  sending  out  (in  1810),  by  way  of  the  Peace  River,  a  company  from  Canada  under 
the  surveyor  and  astronomer  David  Thompson.  All  these  parties  arrived  successively  on  the  Pacific 
in  what  was  then  called  the  Oregon  country.  The  English  detachments  were  at  the  north,  the 
Americans  farther  south,  and  especially  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  where,  in  the  spring 
of  1811,  they  built  Fort  Astoria  in  the  vicinity  of  the  cape  named  by  Broughton  Point  George. 

Thompson  explored  the  region  watered  by  the  main  branch  of  the  Columbia.  He  followed  part 
of  the  route  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  corroborated  and  in  some  particulars  corrected  their  reports,  and 
gave  an  improved  map  of  the  sources  of  the  Missouri  as  well  as  of  the  Columbia  River.  Much  in- 
formation  in  regard  to  this  expedition  was  given  by  Washington  Irving  in  his  "Astoria,  or  Anec 
dotes  of  an  Enterprise  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Philadelphia,  183(i." 

In  August,  1812,  the  ship  Beaver  was  sent  from  Astoria  towards  the  Russian  establishments 
but  the  war  that  ensued  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  checked  the  operations  of 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  605 

the  Pacific  Fur  Company.  Disasters  followed.  The  ship  Tonquin  was  wrecked  and  her  crew  was 
murdered  by  savages.  The  ship  Lark,  sent  from  New  York  by  Mr.  Astor  in  the  year  1813,  was 
wrecked  at  the  Sandwich  islands,  and  much  suffering  was  endured  by  the  land  parties. 

While  the  agents  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  held  possession  of  the  fort  at  Astoria  (from  June, 
1811,  until  ctober,  1813)  several  parties  were  sent  out  from  thence,  but  all  were  directed  to  the 
upper  branches  of  the  Columbia.  Mr.  Astor  intended  "to  have  coasting  vessels  of  his  own  at 
Astoria-,  of  small  draught  of  water,  fitted  for  coasting  service,"  but  that  purpose  was  not  accomplished. 
The  people  there  were  without  means  for  navigating  the  coast,  with  which  they  consequently 
remained  entirely  unacquainted,  while  the  interior  regions  were  well  known  to  them.  Finally,  when 
threatened  by  the  presence  of  a  British  sloop-of-war  in  the  Pacific,  the  agents  of  Mr.  Astor,  on  the 
16th  of  October,  1813,  sold  the  fur  establishment  to  the  Northwest  Company.  Only  a  month  after 
the  transfer  the  sloop-of  war  Raccoon,  Captain  Black,  entered  Columbia  Eiver,  the  British  flag  was 
raised,  and  the  name  Astoria  was  changed  to  Fort  George.  After  the  restoration  of  peace  the  fort 
was  again  (1818)  in  possession  of  the.  United  States.  Mr.  Astor  for  a  time  contemplated  the  revival 
of  his  western  projects,  but  the  Northwest  Company  had  in  the  interval  occupied  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia  River  and  its  chief  tributaries,  and  were  carrying  on  trade  in  the  neighboring  regior. 
Official  aid  could  not  be  obtained,  and  without  such  aid  it  was  deemed  impossible  to  dispossess  the 
intruders. 

Citizens  of  the  United  States  were  at  this  period  settling  and  improving  the  fertile  lands  of 
Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  distant  Pacific  region  had  become  less  attractive  as  the  sea 
otters  diminished  in  number;  and  moreover  the  fur  yearly  decreased  in  price.  The  Federal 
Government,  however,  repeatedly  sisseited  its  right  to  that  part  of  North  America. 

In  the  year.  1821  the  fur  companies,  af ter  being  at  enmity  as  rivals,  were  united  under  theuauie 
of  The  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  this  union  gave  strength  to  the  British  interest  on  the 
northwest  coast. 

The.  voyages  and  travels  of  Franklin,  Richardson,  Parry,  and  others,  undertaken  by  order  of 
the  British  Government,  and  favored  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  aided  much  in  geographical 
development  near  the  Rocky  Mountains.  New  roads  were  opened  to  the  west,  but  their  views 
were  chiefly  directed  to  the  north.  In  a  peaceful  way  the  agents  of  the  company  in  time  occupied 
nearly  the  whole  Pacific  slope  between  California  and  the  Russian  possessions,  and  all  the  country 
drained  by  the  Columbia,  Fraser,  and  other  rivers.  These  agents,  says  Mr.  Greenhow  "were 
now  seen  throughout  the  whole  northwest,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  hunting,  trapping,  and 
trading  with  the  aborigines.  Their  boats  sailed  on  every  lake  and  river,  and  their  trading  posts 
and  fortifications  were  in  every  important  location.  For  many  years  scarcely  one  American  citizen 
was  to  be  seen  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  nay,  they  were  obliged  even  to  withdraw  their  vessels 
from  the  northwestern  coast." 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  had  their  principal  residence  on  the  Columbia,  in  Fort  Vancouver, 
founded  in  the  year  1824,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  This  became  the 
center  of  operations  in  what  they  called  The  Columbia  Department  (now  Oregon  and  Washington), 
but  they  established «ome  trading  post  in  every  position  of  importance,  from  the  north,  even  beyond 
the  Russian  settlements,  and  to  the  southward  at  San  Francisco  and  Monterey.  They  resorted 
also  to  the.  Sandwich  Islands.  Mr.  Astor's  idea  of  a  coasting  fleet  was  realized  by  this  company. 
Small  vessels  to  explore  the  inlets  and  ports  along  the  coast  were  provided,  and  in  the  interval 
between  the  years  1830  and  1840,  they  had  in  service  five  corvettes  of  about  300  tons  each  and  a 
small  steamer  (the  Beaver),  besides  two  larger  sea-going  vessels  for  trading  between  Columbia 
River  and  London. 

In  successive  excursions  the  Canadian  hunters  extended  their  trading  district  from  the  Colum 
bia  southward  to  the  Sacramento,  and  on  their  way  found  several  rivers  the  banks  of  which  were 
inhabited  by  distinct  tribes  of  Indians.  Some  of  the  names  then  given  to  streams  are  still  retained 
as  Umpquah  Klamath,  &c.  Commodore  Wilkes,  whose  exploring  parties  from  the  Columbia 
River  in  1841  partly  followed  the  tracks  opened  by  the  Canadian  hunters,  gives  much  useful 
information  in  regard  to  this  region  in  his  "  Narrative  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition," 
Vols.  IV  and  V.  The  French  traveler,  Duflot  de  Mofras,  who  was  journeying  there  in  the  year 


606  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUEVEY. 

1841,  made  the  matter  a  subject  of  investigal  ion,  and  gave  much  information  in  his  published  work 
entitled  "Exploration  du  territoire  de  1'Oregon.  Paris,  1844." 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  sent  some  parties  to  explore  the  lower  reaches  of  rivers  which 
had  been  crossed  by  the  Canadian  hunters,  and  to  build  small  forts  at  suitable  places.  It  may  be 
said  that  at  this  time  they  were  the  only  navigating  parties  on  the  coa.st.  But  the  company  kept 
no  account  of  their  laud  operations.  De  Mot'ras  says  that  Captain  Brotchie,  in  the  service  of  that 
company,  was  very  active;  he  was  one  of  the  most  experienced  officers  on  the  coast,  and  in  the 
year  1830  made  a  coasting  voyage  in  the  schooner  Cadborough  to  the  south  of  the  Columbia 
River  to  examine  the  entrances  of  the  little  rivers  Sagousta,  Killimon,  Yacoun,  Xchalem,  Umpquah, 
and  Klamath.  A  fort  was  erected  near  the  mouth  of  the  Umpquah  iu  the  year  18;>7. 

An  important  branch  of  the  operations  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  was  their  exploration  at 
the  north,  towards  the  Strait  of  Fuca  and  Vancouver  Island.  In  that  direction  they  founded 
posts  after  the  year  1830.  At  that  time  Fort  Nisqually  was  founded  at  the  head  of  Puget  Sound, 
and  in  time  it  became  their  chief  station  in  that  quarter.  The  eastern  coast  of  Vancouver  Island 
was  also  at  that  period  further  explored  and  partially  settled.  Coal  was  found  on  the  island  in 
the  year  1834,  and  by  means  of  the  little  .steamer  Heaver,  already  mentioned,  steam  navigation 
was  used  for  examining  the  nooks  and  corners  of  that  vicinity  which  had  not  been  seen  by 
Vancouver,  Valdez,  or  Galiano. 

In  the  year  1828  Fraser  Eiver  was  for  the  first  time  navigated  in  canoes  from  its  source  to 
the  inouth  by  Sir  George  Simpson,  governor  of  the  territories  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
Other  rivers  were  traced,  and  in  particular  the  Stikine,  which  was  iirst  examined  by  the  traveler 
McLeod.  These  and  other  streams  of  the  northwest  had  not  been  explored  by  Vancouver.  The 
center  of  these  movements  was  Fort  Vancouver,  but  animation  was  given  by  the  company's  chief 
agent  in  the  Columbia  district,  Dr.  John  McLaughlin.  That  energetic  man  deserves  mention  in 
the  history  of  exploration ;  he  crossed  the  Eocky  Mountains  with  the  Northwest  Company,  and 
in  the  year  1824  built  Fort  Vancouver.  It  was  at  his  instance  that  all  the  enterprises  here 
mentioned  were  undertakeu,  and  (says  De  Mofras)  to  him  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  owed 
principally  the  advancement  of  their  affairs  and  the  extension  of  their  commercial  dominion  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  He  ruled,  so  to  speak,  in  those  regions  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

RUSSIAN   SETTLEMENTS,  1812-M1. 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  Eussian  Fur  Company  so  greatly  extended  their  settle. 
rnents  that  at  one  time  the  two  corporations  seemed  to  divide  the  entire  region  between 
themselves. 

After  the  year  1806,  when  the  naval  expedition  of  Ee/anoff  and  Langsdorff  came  down  from 
the  north  to  San  Francisco  and  attempted  to  establish  there  a  commercial  connection  with  the 
Spanish  missions,  those  regions  had  not  been  forgotten  by  the  Eussians,  and  as  they  always  needed 
provisions  they  concluded  to  settle  at  some  point  on  the  coast  not  already  occupied,  and  there 
cultivate  ground  on  their  own  account.  For  this  purpose  they  chose  Bodega  Bay,  north  of  San 
Francisco,  which  had  not  been  reached  by  the  Spanish  missions.  M.  Barauoff,  the  enterprising 
Eussian  governor,  sent  in  the  year  1812  an  expedition,  consisting  of  one  hundred  Eussians  and  a 
number  of  Aleutians,  iu  a  fleet  of  barks  commanded  by  M.  Kuskoff.  They  sailed  from  Sitka 
southward  as  far  as  Port  Bodega.  There  they  made  a  settlement,  which  in  course  of  time 
extended  along  the  coast  nearly  40  miles,  and  in  that  stretch  were  a  fort,  Eussian  farm-houses, 
magazines,  chapels,  fruit  gardens,  and  ground  under  cultivation.  The  Spanish  authorities 
repeatedly  protested  against  this  Eussian  encroachment,  but  were  unable  to  resist  it  by  force. 
The  Eussians  consequently  retained  possession  for  nearly  thirty  years.  They  made  yearly  boat 
expeditious  from  Sitka  to  Bodega  Harbor,  and  from  thence  gradually  extended  their  journeys  for 
hunting  on  land  and  for  taking  seal  along  the  coast.  They  went  into  San  Francisco  Bay  and 
killed  the  sea  otter  in  sight  of  the  Spaniards,  who,  if  able  to  resist  them,  had  no  boats. 

In  the  year  1826  the  Eussians  possessed  themselves  of  the  Faralloues,  where  they  established 
a  little  colony  of  Kadiacks  and  held  those  islands  so  long  as  seals  and  the  sea  otter  were  to  be 
found  there.  They  proceeded  south  to  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  and  occupied  some  of  the 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  607 

islands.  The  island  of  San  Nicolas  is  particularly  mentioned  as  the  usual  hunting  ground  of  the 
Russians.  Captain  Beechy  and  Sir  George  Simpson  make  mention  of  these  movements.  It 
appears  that  the  Russians  were  assisted  in  some  of  these  expeditions  by  Boston  men  or  American 
manners.  In  Irviug's  Astoria,  we  read:  "The  American  captains  engaged  in  this  particular 
department  of  west  coast  trade  used  to  come  to  New  Archangel,  the  principal  place  of  the  Russian 
colonies.  Here  their  ships  would  be  furnished  with  a  little  fleet  of  canoes  and  a  hundred  Kadiack 
hunters,  and  fitted  out  with  everything  necessary  for  hunting  the  sea  otter  on  the  coast  of  Cali 
fornia.  The  ships  would  ply  along  the  California!!  coast  from  place  to  place,  dropping  parties  of 
hunters  in  their  canoes,  and  leaving  them  to  depend  upon  their  own  dexterity  for  maintenance. 
When  a  sufficient  cargo  was  collected  they  would  gather  up  their  canoes  and  hunters  and  return 
with  them  to  New  Archangi ,  where  the  American  captain  would  receive  one-half  the  skins  for  his 
share." 

The  Russians  gave  to  places  on  the  coast  names  of  their  own.  Bodega  Bay  was  called  by 
them  Port  Boman/ou";  Bodega  Head  was  their  Cape  Roman/oft';  the  river  San  Ignacio  they  named 
Avatscha  River;  the  river  San  Sebastian  is  their  Slavianka  River;  and  the  point  now  known  as 
Fort  Ross  was  in  their  designation  Cape  Sievero  Zapadnoi,  that  is  Northwest  Cape. 

As  their  baidarkas  were  very  small  vessels  and  the  Kadiacks  expert  fishermen,  they  probably, 
in  the  course  of  those  thirty  years,  gained  intimate  knowledge  of  little  inlets  which  had  never  been 
seen  either  by  the  Spaniards  or  Vancouver.  It  is  therefore  unfortunate  that  we  do  not  know 
what  names  were  given  to  them.  It  is  also  to  be  regretted  that  their  scientific  observations  and 
charts  of  the  region  are  lost,  for  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  such  existed  when  we' read  the 
description  given  by  a  French  traveler  of  the  cultivated  society  of  talented  officers  once  assem 
bled  on  the  shores  of  Port  Romanzoff. 

The  Basso-American  Company  is  said  to  have  derived  large  gains  from  the  southern  settle 
ments;  and  thus  the  Russian  Government  was  induced  to  form  plans  for  dominion.  One  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  was  seized,  and  in  the  year  1821  a  ukase  issued  by  which  the  Russian  Gov 
ernment  was  declared  to  be  in  possession  of  the  coast  northward  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  all 
foreigners  were  prohibited  from  approaching  within  100  miles.  These  measures  were  somewhat 
like  those  of  the  Spanish  King  who  soon  after  the  Middle  Ages  attempted  to  make  the  Pacific 
Ocean  a  marc  rlmmnm.  But  the  protests  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  againsfe  the  sin 
gular  proceeding,  and  the  subsequent  treaties  between  those  powers  and  Russia  in  1825  and  1826, 
made  the  decree,  which  has  been  referred  to,  of  no  effect.  The  southern  boundary  of  the  I.'ussinn 
empire  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America  was  finally  fixed,  and  in  the  year  1841  the  Russian 
Commercial  Company  gave  up  their  establishments  on  the  coast  of  California.  The  good  sites  for 
sealing  and  sea  otter  hunting  had  been  exhausted,  and  the  necessity  for  seeking  provisions  so  far 
south  was  removed  by  the  operations  of  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company,  which  had  culti 
vated  land  nearer  to  the  Russian  colonies.  All  the  circumstances  had  changed;  another  nation 
was  approaching. California,  and  the  Russians  sold  all  the  property  to  which  they  had  claim. 

MISSIONARY  TRAVELS. 

The  Franciscan  missionaries  did  not  extend  their  explorations  in  California  either  along  the 
coast  or  towards  the  interior.  They  were  able  to  do  little,  as  they  had  not  in  San  Francisco  Bay 
any  vessel,  or  even  a  boat,  at,  their  disposal.  When  a  ship  arrived  at  the  Golden  Gate  it  was 
hailed  by  a  speaking  trumpet  and  was  obliged  to  send  a  boat  on  shore  to  the  fort.  Expeditions  to 
the  eastern  side  of  the  bay  were  made  on  horseback  round  the  basin,  and  the  rivers  were  exam 
ined  in  the  same  manner.  This  appears  almost  incredible,  yet  Vancouver  in  1792,  as  well  as 
Langsdorft'  in  1800,  and  others  mention  what  has  just  been  stated.  From  this  it  may  be  concluded 
that  nothing  could  be  done  at  that  time  for  the  hydrography.  Langsdortt'  says  (in  18()(i)  that 
Spaniards  had  traced  the  river  Sacramento  nearly  90  leagues,  but  only  along  one  of  its  banks,  never 
having  been  able  to  examine  the  right  bank  for  want  of  boats.  Of  the  source  of  the  river  noth 
ing  was  known,  and  even  the  sea  entrance  was  doubtful.  But  land  excursions  were  made  yearly 
from  the  principal  Spanish  posts,  Monterey,  San  Diego,  and  San  Francisco,  to  procure  Indians  for 
service  at  the  missions ;  and  at  the  same  time  efforts  were  made  to  Christianize  them.  These  jour- 


608  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

neys  of  course  tended  to  enlarge  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  territory.  Some  appear  to  have  been 
made  for  establishing  communication  between  Santa  F6,  in  New  Mexico,  and  the  upper  coast  of 
California.  In  1785  the  Governor  of  that  province,  lion  Pedro  Pages,  bad  proposed  an  expedition 
from  Monterey,  or  the  river  of  San  Francisco,  to  the  east,  with  a  view  of  communicating  with  the 
province  of  New  Mexico.  It  seems  that  now  and  then  a  journey  was  made  expressly  for  discovery. 
Thus  we  read  that  in  the  year  1811  two  Franciscan  friars,  the  Fathers  Fortuni  and  Abello, 
traveled  along  the  course  of  the  San  Joaquin  River  and  explored  its  valley,  excepting  the  upper 
] tarts.  No  doubt  the  history  of  these  excursions  would  be  interesting,  but  no  writers  such  as 
Fathers  Crespi,  Palon,  and  De  la  Pena  were  left  in  California  to  make  journals. 

Langsdorft'  says  that  while  he  was  at  San  Francisco  a  sergeant  and  corporal  with  thirteen  sol 
diers  arrived  from  the  east,  having  just  returned  from  travel.  They  asserted  that  they  had  pene 
trated  into  the  country  between  80  and  90  leagues,  and  had  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada.  In  the  same  direction  another  party  went  soon  after  under  Don  Luis  Arguello  and 
Father  Joseph  Uria. 

CAPT.  F.  W.  BEECHY,  18-27. 

While  continental  war  continued  in  Europe  the  British  Government  gave  no  attention  to  the 
question  concerning  a  northwest  passage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  but  after  the  year  1816 
the  subject  was  again  taken  up.  Maritime  parties  explored  Baffin's  Bay,  including  its  northern 
branches  and  inlets.  In  1821  Captain  Parry  sailed  into  Lancaster  Sound,  and  went  westward 
somewhat  farther  than  either  of  the  navigators  who  preceded  him.  After  his  return  a  combined 
land  and  sea  expedition  was  planned,  and  he  was  again  s'ent  to  Lancaster  Sound,  with  directions 
to  pass  on  westward,  if  possible,  to  Bering  Strait.  Captain  Franklin  went  overland  through  the 
central  parts  of  Arctic  America  to  explore  the  coast  of  the  fro/en  sea.  It  was,  moreover,  resolved 
to  send  a  ship  through  the  Pacific  to  Bering  Strait  to  supply  Captain  Parry,  if  he  shou  d  arrive 
there,  with  provisions,  and  to  bring  home  the  land  party  of  Captain  Franklin.  The  ship  Blossom 
was  selected  for  the  service,  and  Captain  Beechy  was  assigned  to  command.  As  the  estimated 
time  of  arrival  at  the  strait  was  ample,  he  was  instructed  to  explore  and  survey  parts  of  the 
Pacific  deemed  most  important  for  navigation  and  within  reach  of  his  intended  course.  The  ship 
was  therefore  fitted  with  appliances  for  surveying,  and  was  accompanied  by  several  officers  of 
ability,  one  being  Lieut.  Edward  Belcher.  Only  general  directions  were  given  in  regard  to  the 
exploration  of  our  coasts,  and  discretionary  power  was  allowed  in  the  choice  of  places  for  pro 
curing  provisions  and  water.  So  also  in  regard  to  the  return  voyage,  of  which  liberty  Captain 
Beechy  so  availed  that  he  made  a  prolonged  stay  on  the  coast  of  California,  and, on  his  way  home 
passed  along  the  shores  that  had  not  been  visited  by  any  scientific  expedition  since  the  time  of 
Vancouver.  His  instructions  included  that  particular  note  should  be  made  of  the  differences  of 
longitude  as  given  by  his  chronometers. 

Captain  Beechy  made  the  •'  Highland  of  New  Albion "  on  the  5th  of  November,  182C,  as  he  was 
returning  from  his  visit  to  Bering  Strait.  He  passed  with  Bodega  and  Point  Reyes  in  view,  and 
soon  entered  San  Francisco  Bay,  where,  by  sounding,  he  discovered  some  dangerous  rocks,  one  of 
which  he  named  after  his  ship  Blossom  Rock.  Without  delay  he  sounded  and  completed  a  survey 
of  the  port  and  bay,  and  by  astronomical  observations  corrected  the  position  of  the  place.  He  then 
proceeded  to  Monterey,  where  he  was  for  a  time  occupied  in  a  similar  way.  On  the  5th  of  January, 
ISL'7,  he  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  In  the  course  of  the  same  year,  on  his  return  voyage  to 
Europe,  after  a  second  summer  sojourn  at  Bering  Strait,  Beechy  was  again  in  San  Francisco  Bay, 
and  also  at  Monterey,  but  only  for  a  few  days  in  November  and  December.  In  the  report  of  his 
voyage  he  treats  at  length  on  the  Spanish  missions,  and  in  regard  to  the  Indians  of  California. 
Beechy's  determinations  for  geographical  position  compare  well  with  the  final  results  reached  in 
i,he  operations  of  the  Coast  Survey. 

SIR  EDWARD  BELCHER,  lf:t»i-'4->. 

The  British  Government  previous  to  the  year  1830  had  been  active,  and  several  expeditious 
were  sent  to  explore  the  coasts  of  America.  Captain  King  and  Captain  Fitzroy,  in  the  ships 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  609 

Adventure  ami  Beagle,  were  occupied  nearly  ten  years  (1826-1836)  with  the  survey  of  the  Strait  of 
Magellan  and  the  adjacent  southern  part  of  the  western  coast  of  South  America. 

In  December,  1835,  another  expedition  was  ordered  by  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty,  to  continue 
the  survey  of  the  western  coast  of  America  north  of  the  point  where  it  was  discontinued  by 
Fitzroy.  "The  impulse  which  American  commerce  had  received  from  the  revolutions  in  the 
Spanish  colonies  had  brought  English  vessels  into  contact  with  every  port  from  Valdivia  in  the 
south  to  Columbia  River  in  the  north,  and  particularly  the  western  American  commerce  had  long 
been  in  need  of  good  charts."  Two  vessels,  the  Sulphur  (British  sloop  of  war)  and  the  schooner 
Starling,  were  therefore  fitted  out,  and  Captain  Beechy,  who  had  been  on  the  western  coast,  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  expedition.  The  Starling  was  intrusted  to  the  command  of  Lieutenant 
Relict.  Captain  Beechy  conducted  the  voyage  as  far  as  Valparaiso,  but  being  constrained  to 
return  to  England  as  an  invalid,  Captain  Belcher  was  commissioned  to  replace  him,  and  after 
crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  Belcher  joined  the  squadron  on  the  Pacific  in  February,  1837. 
He  sailed  at  once  byway  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  from  thence  reached  Prince  William  Sound 
in  August.  His  instructions  directed  that  "  a  general  chart  should  be  made  of  California,"  and  he 
was  advised  "to  devote  some  time  to  the  bar  of  Columbia  River,  and  to  its  channels  of  approach, 
as  also  to  its  inner  anchorages  and  shores."  In  touching  the  district  visited  by  Vancouver  (called 
the  northwest  coast)  care  was  to  be  taken  to  verify  the  longitude  at  two  or  three  of  Vancouver's 
principal  points  which  differ  materially  from  the  longitudes  assigned  by  Senor  Quadra  and  the 
Spaniards.  From  the  latitude  of  Mount  Saint  Elias  "the  survey  again  might  be  pursued  to  the 
southward  and  along  to  the  shores  of  Mexico  and  Guatemala  alternately  changing  the  ground 
according  to  the  periodic  change  of  weather."  In  accordance  with  these  instructions,  which  gave 
liberty  in  regard  "  to  the  selection  of  ground  and  in  respect  of  the  division  and  disposal  of  hit 
time,"  Belcher  extended  surveying  operations  twice  along  the  northwest  coast  from  Mount  Saint 
Elias  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  once  in  the  summer  of  1837  and  again  in  the  summer  of  1839.  At 
already  stated  he  was  in  the  latitude  of  Mount  Saint  Elias  in  August.  He  passed  some  timeneai 
the  Russian  settlements,  and  early  in  October  was  at  Nootka,  where  he  found  an  Indian  prince 
named  Maguilla  or  Maguinna,  a  descendant  of  the  former  chief  of  that  name.  From  thence  he 
went  southward,  passed  the  Columbia  River  entrance,  as  the  weather  was  boisterous,  and  kept  on 
to  San  Francisco,  where  he  dropped  anchor  in  Yerba  Buena  Bay  on  the  19th  of  October. 

San  Francisco  Bay  had  been  explored  by  himself  and  Captain  Beechy  in  the  year  1827,  when 
they  were  in  the  ship  Blossom,  but  that  survey  was  ended  at  Rarquiues  Strait.  On  the  24th  of 
October  Captain  Belcher  started  from  Yerba  Buena  with  the  tender  Starling,  a  pinnace,  two 
cutters,  and  two  gigs,  to  explore  the  navigable  channel  of  the  Rio  Sacramento.  He  carried  the 
Starling  in  as  far  as  Suisun  Bay,  and  with  his  boats  in  the  course  of  five  days  ascended  the  river 
about  150  miles,  including  the  curves  of  the  channel.  The  limit  of  progress  with  boats  he  named 
Victoria  Point.  In  returning  he  made  a  trigonometrical  survey  of  the  course  of  the  river  and  was 
thus  engaged  during  twenty  days.  On  the  24th  of  November  he  again  reached  the  ship  Sulphur, 
and  ten  days  afterwards  arrived  at  Monterey.  Only  a  few  days  previous  to  his  arrival  the  French 
frigate  La  Venus  had  cleared  from  that  port.  On  the  llth  of  December  Captain  Belcher  passed 
near  Guadalnpe  to  land,  and  on  the  16th  reached  Cape  San  Lucas,  where  he  closed  his  first  survey 
ing  cruise  along  the  coast  of  California. 

During  the  two  subsequent  years  Belcher  was  occupied  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  more  to 
the  southward,  but  he  returned  by  way  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  irt  the  spring  of  1839,  and  was  at 
Sitka  early  in  July.  Near  the  close  of  that  month  he  entered  Columbia  River  and  surveyed  its 
course  and  channel  up  to  Foil  Vancouver.  Two  mouths  were  occupied  in  that  work.  The 
channel  at  the  south  entrance  he  called  Queen's  Channel.  On  the  14th  of  September  he  left 
the  river,  but  on  the  way,  toward  San  Francisco,  he  sent  Lieutenant  Rellet  with  the  Starling 
into  Bodega  Bay  with  directions  to  complete  a  survey.  The  report  mentions  that  the  work  was 
done  "as  soon  as  I  he  fog  permitted."  • 

On  the  5th  of  October  Belcher  reached   Monterey,  and  on   the  7th  was  in  the  Santa  Barbara 

Channel.     Partial  surveys  were  made  oft' the  anchorage  and  at  the  approaches  to  San  Pedro  Bay. 

From  thence  the  Starling  was  dispatched  to  examine  the  island  and  anchorage  of  Santa  Catalina. 

Belcher  meanwhile'visited  the  harbor  of  San  Juan  and  San  Diego  Bay.     He  made  a  careful 

H.  Ex.  43 77 


610  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

survey  of  the  last-mentioned  bay,  and  near  the  close  of  October  left  the  coast  and  never  returned. 
Kellet  was  there  again  in  command  of  a  surveying  vessel,  and  in  the  year  1847  made  some 
surveys  in  the  strait  of  Fuca,  the  results  of  which  are  given  on  the  admiralty  charts. 

FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS,  1820-'42. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  French  voyages  to  the  northwest  coast  under  La 
Perouse  and  Marchand.  After  these,  the  French  revolution  restrained  maritime  action  in  the 
Pacific,  but  on  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  or  soon  following  that  event,  sea  enterprises  were 
resumed.  Each  voyage  doubtless  had  some  influence  in  geographical  development,  but  it  would 
be  needless  to  trace  them  without  access  to  the  separate  narratives,  even  if  such  narratives  were 
in  existence.  In  chronological  order  they  were — 

1.  A  voyage  around  the  world  by  Roquefeuil  in  the  year  1820. 

2.  A  voyage  around  the  world  in  the  frigate  La  Coquille. 

3.  A  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  iu  the  frigate  La  The'tis  and  the  corvette  1'Esperauce,  in 
the  years  1824-'26,  under  Baron  Bougainville. 

4.  A  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  in  the  corvette  La  Favorite  in  the  years  l£30-'32,  under 
command  of  M.  La  Place. 

5.  A  voyage  around  the  world  in  the  years  1836  and  1837,  in  the  corvette  La  Bouite,  com 
manded  by  M.  Vaillant,  Captain  de  Vaisseau. 

6.  A  voyage  around  the  world  in  the  frigate  La  Venus,  18oG-'39,  by  Abel  du  Petit  Thouars. 

7.  A  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  by  the  frigate  La  Artemise  in  1837-'39,  under  command 
of  M.  La  Place. 

8.  A  voyage  around  the  globe  in  the  corvette  La  Danaide,  commanded  by  Capt.  D.  Rosamel, 
iu  1839  and  1840. 

Most  of  these  expeditious  touched  at  the  usual  places  and  ports  of  the  North  Pacific 
explorers,  China,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  California. 

Between  the  years  1837  and  1840  there  was  annually  a  French  expedition  in  the  harbor  of 
Monterey.  All  of  them  made  observations  occasionally,  and  some  surveys  of  harbors,-  capes,  and 
bays. 

As  the  most  interesting  of  these  voyages  in  relation  to  California,  we  may  point  out  those  of 
Dn  Petit  Thouars  (1837),  La  Place  (1839),  and  Rosamel  (1840)r. 

French  or  Canadian  missionaries  also  who  traveled  in  the  Oregon  country  advanced  the 
knowledge  of  its  geography  by  publication.  The  journey  of  Blanchet  and  Demers,  in  1838,  was 
one  of  that  kind,  when  they  founded  several  Roman  Catholic  missions  amongst  Canadian  settlers 
on  the  shores  of  Columbia  River. 

During  the  excitement  incident  to  the  contested  possession  of  Oregon  the  French  Government 
sent  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras  on  a  diplomatic  mission  to  Mexico  (1840-'42)  with  instructions  to  visit 
the  western  and  northwestern  provinces  of  Mexico,  Upper  aud  Lower  California,  the  Russian  estab 
lishments,  and  the  Oregon  Territory.  He  traveled  iu  each  of  the  places  indicated,  and  on  the  coast 
met  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition  under  Captain  Wilkes.  De  Mofras  collected  much 
interesting  information,  and  gave  the  results  in  a  well-written  work.  He  gives  particulars  re 
specting  the  journeys  of  the  French  Canadians  under  the  auspices  of  the  Northwest  and  Hudson 
Bay  Companies,  and  regards  them  as  French  explorations.  They  may  be  so  called,  as  the  French 
began  the  march  of  disco  very,  from  the  Saint  Lawrence  towards  the  Pacific.  By  their  help  us 
subjects  of  England  the  British  company  brought  that  movement  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion. 

The  voyage  of  Captain  Rosamel  and  the  land  expedition  of  DC  .Mofras  to  California  were  the 
last  which  can  be  properly  named  as  French  undertakings  in  that  direction. 

UNITED  STATES  EXPEDITIONS  1820-'47. 

After  the  unfortunate  experience  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  citizens  of  the  United  States 
for  a  time  lost  sight  of  the  far  northwest.  A  pause  of  some  years  ensued,  but  at  length  attention 
was  directed  southwest,  to  the  head  of  Colorado  River,  to  New  Mexnco,  and  occasionally  to  the 
southeastern  branches  of  Columbia  River,  where  they  were  not  likely  to  come  iu  contact  with  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  It  will  suffice  to  point  out  the  progressive  steps  taken  in  that  direction. 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  611 

lu  the  year  1820  Maj.  Stephen  Long  went  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  heads  of  the  Platte 
and  Arkansas  Rivers,  and  to  New  Mexico.  Regular  trade  was  soon  established  between  the 
Mississippi  and  Rio  Colorado,  between  Saint  Louis  and  Santa  F£.  Nearly  every  summer  after  the 
,\oar  1S23  largo  caravans  passed .  between  those  two  places,  and  inauy  American  trappers  and 
hunters  arrived  at  different  points  on  the  Upper  Colorado.  Of  these  the  most  successful  was  Mr.  W. 
H.  Ashley,  who  conducted  or  sent  in  the  period  between  1823  and  1827  several  bodies  of  trappers, 
with  horses,  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Colorado  and  Columbia  Rivers. 
From  thence  he  made  several  excursions  westward,  and  sent  detached  parties  to  different  branches 
of  the  western  waters.  He  discovered  the  South  Pass,  and  was  the  first  American  who  saw  Utah 
Lake  and  Green  River  and  other  brandies  of  the  Colorado.  •  Mr.  Ashley  was  succeeded  by  Messrs. 
Smith  and  Soublette,  who  bought  his  interests  and  pushed  operations  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  also  along  the  southeastern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  years  1827  to  1829.  Mr.  Smith 
was  the  first  American  who  traversed  central  California  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  towards  the 
San  Joacliin  River,  San  Francisco,  and  the  Pacific ;  but  he  recorded  no  astronomical  observations. 
He  was  murdered  in  the  year  1829  by  Indians  near  Utah  Lake.  On  his  map  of  the  northwest  De 
Mofras  approximately  represents  the  route  taken  by  Mr.  Smith. 

In  the  years  1828  and  1829  another  American  traveler,  Mr.  Pilcher,  a  member  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  followed  the  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  journeyed  along  the  northern  branch, 
and  returned  by  the  Athabasca  and  Red  Rivers. 

Excursions  for  hunting  and  trapping  were  made  in  1832  and  1833  by  Mr.  J.  O.  Pattie  and 
Captain  Bonneville.  They  first  traversed  the  Colorado  country  and  California,  and  Bonueville  "  led 
a  band  of  more  than  a  hundred  men,  with  wagons,  horses,  and  mules,  from  Missouri  to  the  countries 
of  the  Colorado  and  Columbia,  in  which  he  passed  two  years  in  hunting."  About  this  time 
Captain  Wyeth  formed  a  scheme  similar  to  that  of  Mr.  Astor  for  establishing  trade  between  China, 
Eastern  Asia,  and  the  United  States  by  way  of  the  Columbia  River,  and  for  that  purpose  he  organ 
ized  the  Columbia  Fishing  and  Trading  Company.  A  ship  was  sent  to  Columbia  River,  and  a 
party  was  arranged  to  carry  by  land  goods  and  men  across  the  mountains.  With  the  men  Wyeth 
went  in  person,  and  established  a  port  at  the  mouth  of  Willamette  River.  But  it  was  soon  aban 
doned,  as  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  by  peaceful  opposition,  counteracted  all  his  efforts  to  retain 
the  place.  His  journals  and  a  narrative  of  his  adventures  have  been  published. 

In  the  year  1834  the  first  body  of  American  emigrants  settled  in  the  Columbia  region,  and 
were  conducted  by  the  Methodist  missionaries,  Lee  and  Sheperd.  Other  religious  associations 
became  active.  In  1835  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  made  a  journey  to  Oregon,  and  was  followed  by 
Roman  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant  missionaries. 

American  trappers,  hunters,  and  fur-traders  were  steadily  traveling  and  trading  at  the  south; 
also  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Colorado  and  towards  California  on  paths  opened  and  beaten  by 
Ashley,  Smith,  Pattie,  and  Bonueville.  In  this  way  the  attention  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  became  directed  to  the  Pacific  slope,  on  which  citizens  had  established  large  interests.  In 
furtherance  of  them  Mr.  Forsyth,  Secretary  of  State,  in  1836,  proposed  the  first  official  exploring 
expedition  westward.  In  November,  1835,  President  Van  Buren  accordingly  directed  William  A. 
Slacum,  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Navy,  to  proceed  to  the  western  coast  and  endeavor  "  to 
obtain  there  all  such  information,  political,  physical,  statistical,  and  geographical  as  might  prove 
useful  or  interesting  to  the  Government."  The  instructions  and  particulars  of  the  voyage  are  given 
in  Senate  Doc.  No.  24,  second  session,  Twenty-fifth  Congress. 

Mr.  Slacum  traveled  through  Mexico  to  Guaymas,  and  left  that  port  on  the  1st  of  June, 
intending  to  reach  the  Columbia  River  by  land.  In  Sonora  he  bought  mules  and  provisions,  but 
was  compelled  to  abandon  the  journey,  being  informed  by  Dr.  Keith,  who  had  just  then  come  from 
the  north,  that  the  laud  route  to  Oregon  was  impracticable  at  that  season  of  the  year.  Slacum 
returned  to  Guaymas,  chartered  the  Loretano,  a  vessel  of  12  tons,  and  in  her  set  sail,  on  the  7th 
of  July,  for  the  Columbia  River  entrance.  After  being  at  sea  nineteen  days  and  making  only 
400  miles  he  was,  near  Cape  San  Lucas,  forced  by  furious  head  winds  to  put  into  Mazatlan 
in  distress  and  there  abandon  the  schooner.  An  English  barge,  the  Falcon,  was  then  at  La  Paz, 
in  Lower  California,  and  about  to  sail  for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Slacum  took  passage,  hoping  to 
get  from  theuce  to  his  intended  destination.  He  reached  the  Sandwich  Islands  on  the  5th  of 


612  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SUKVEY. 

November,  and  there  chartered  the  American  brig  Loriot,  sailed  and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  on  the  22d  of  December,  1836.  His  purpose  was  to  explore  the  river  as  tar  as  practicable, 
then  pass  along  the  coast  to  the  Russian  settlement  at  Bodega,  and,  leaving  Hie  vessel,  to  cross  the 
Indian  country  on  his  return  to  the  United  States.  Slacum  made  some  useful  observations.  He 
sounded  and  plotted  a  chart  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  added  sailing  directions.  He 
procured  charts  and  sketches  from  the  officers  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  from  tlit'in 
compiled  a  map  of  the  coast  and  country  south  of  the  Columbia.  Four  rivers  appear  on  it,  namely, 
the  Klauiet,  Rogues,  Cowis,  and  Umpijuah.  These  had  never  before  been  laid  down  on  any  pub 
lished  map.  Slacum  gathered  some  facts  of  interest  relating  to  the  history  of  the.  establishments 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  and  Russian  Fur  Companies,  and  then  crossing  the  continent  lie  returned  to 
the  United  States. 

UNITED  STATES  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION  1838-M1. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1836,  an  act  of  Congress  authorized  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  fit  out  ail  expedition  for  exploring  the  South  Sea,  and  determining  the  position  of  Pacific  islands 
and  countries  lying  near  the  track  of  American  vessels.  Six  vessels  were  made  ready,  namely,  the 
Vinceuues,  Peacock,  Porpoise,  Relief,  Sea  Gull,  and  Flying  Fish,  and  under  command  of  Lieut. 
Charles  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N.,  the  fleet  sailed  from  Chesapeake  Bay  on  the  18th  of  August,  1838.  He 
was  directed  to  be  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1840,  to  sail  from  thence  to 
the  northwest  coast  of  America,  and  "make  there  such  surveys  and  examinations,  first,  of  the 
territory  of  the  United  States  on  the  seaboard,  and  of  the  Columbia  River,  and  afterwards  along 
the  coast  of  California,  with  special  reference  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  as  lie  could  accomplish, 
until  the  month  of  October  following  his  arrival."  Special  attention  was  to  be  given,  when  prac 
ticable,  in  regard  to  the  geography  and  hydrography  of  the  various  places  visited. 

Lieutenant  Wilkes  was  detained  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Pacinc  Ocean  a  year  longer  than 
was  contemplated  when  the  instructions  issued.  The  Sea  Gull  was  wrecked.  With  the  Viucenues 
and  Porpoise  he  left  the  Sandwich  Islands  on  the  5th  of  April,  1841,  the  last  named  vessel  being 
in  charge  of  Lieut.  C.  Cadwallader  Ringgold.  The  Peacock  and  Flying  Fish  had  been  sent  under 
Capt.  William  Hudson  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  explore  parts  of  the  Pacific,  with  directions 
to  join  the  chief  of  the  squadron  at  the  Columbia  River  by  the  end  of  April,  1841. 

Wilkes  arrived  there  on  the  28th  of  April  with  the  intention  of  entering,  but  the  sea  on  the 
bar  was  heavy,  and  he  concluded  to  sail  for  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  there  begin  surveying  opera 
tions.  He  entered  the  strait  on  the  1st  of  May,  and,  following  the  track  of  Vancouver  to  Port 
Discovery,  Port  Townsend,  and  Admiralty  Inlet,  hastened  to  the  anchorage  at  Nisqually,  where 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  had  an  establishment,  and  there  moored  his  ships  on  the  llth  of  May. 
For  upwards  of  eight  weeks  he  made  that  his  station,  and  organi/ed  surveying  parties  which  were 
sent  out  in  different  directions.  To  the  north  Ringgold  was  sent  in  the  Porpoise  with  two  boats 
to  take  up  the  survey  of  Admiralty  Inlet,  proceed  to  Fraser  River,  and  as  far  as  Johustone's 
Inlet.  Four  boats  were  intrusted  to  Lieutenant  Case  for  the  survey  of  Hood's  Canal  and  Puget 
Sound. 

A  land  party  was  sent  under  Lieutenant  Johnson  to  the  east,  with  directions  to  land  and 
explore  the  interior  as  far  as  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  the  middle  reaches  of  the  Columbia 
Uiver. 

Lieutenant  Wilkes  in  person  conducted  a  party  overland  south  to  the  Lower  Columbia,  to 
start  a  survey  by  the  crew  and  boats  of  the  Peacock,  that  vessel  being  due  from  her  cruise  at  the 
south.  All  the  parties  moved  about  the  middle  of  May,  leaving  Lieutenant  Carr  in  charge  of  the 
ship  station  near  Nisqually  and  of  operations  at  the  observatory  which  had  been  erected  there. 
The  two  land  parties  recorded  observations  of  interest,  but  of  course  none  bearing  on  hydrography. 
Attention  will  therefore  be  limited  to  the  ship  expeditions.  The  survey  of  Howl's  Canal  by  Lieu 
tenant  Case  was  satisfactory.  The  canal  was  not  found  to  terminate  at  the  place  supposed  to  be 
its  end  by  Johnstone  (Vancouver's  lieutenant)  in  1792,  but  to  stretch,  after  a  short  turn  to  the  east, 
10  miles  farther  towards  Puget  Sound. 

Lieutenant  Case  then  surveyed  Puget  Sound,  and  was  soon  joined  by  Captain  Wilkes.  The 
joint  party  had  seven  boats  with  efficient  crews,  and  the  survey  of  the  numerous  branches  of  the 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  613 

sound  was  completed  in  the  course  of  a  week.  Several  inlets,  not  named  on  Vancouver's  chart 
were  at  this  time  named  for  officers  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  as  Budd's  Inlet, 
Eld's  Inlet,  Totten  Inlet,  &c. 

On  the  17th  of  July,  all  the  parties  excepting  the  one  with  Ringgold  in  the  Porpoise  were 
again  at  the  station  near  Nisqually;  and  a  company  was  organized  for  the  survey  of  Gray's  Harbor 
and  Shoalwater  Bay.  Lieutenant  Eld  was  intrusted  with  that  work.  After  his  departure  the 
Vincemies  also  left  Nisqually,  and,  steering  northward,  took  another  station  near  Dnngeness,  in 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,  oil  the  20th  of  July.  Ringgold,  on  the  same  day,  returned  from  his  northern 
survey.  He  had  left  Nisqually  on  the  15th  of  May  and  commenced  work  in  Admiralty  Inlet.  The 
space  then  sounded  he  named  Commencement  Bay,  as  it  had  been  left  nameless  on  Vancouver's 
chart.  From  thence  Ringgold  went  north,  surveying  and  naming  many  points  and  indentations  on 
his  way.  On  the  20th  he  entered  the  Port  Orchard  of  Vancouver,  and  surveyed  it  in  the  course 
of  nine  days.  It  was  found  to  communicate  at  the  north  through  a  strait  with  another  bay  or 
branch  of  Admiralty  Sound  (Port  Madison)  which  had  been  overlooked  by  Vancouver  in  his  short 
visit  to  that  vicinity. 

Kinggold  then  entered  what  had  been  called  by  Vancouver  Possession  Sound,  and  surveyed 
Port  Gardner,  Peun's  Cove,  &c.  On  the  18th  of  June  he  was  at  Deception  Passage,  which  Van 
couver  judged  to  be  insufficient  for  the  passage  of  ordinary  vessels. 

Early  in  July  all  the  bays  and  islands  northward  of  Deception  Passage  were  surveyed  as  far  as 
Fraser  River,  and  from  that  entrance  Ringgold  returned  and  joined  the  Vincennes  at  New  Dunge- 
ness  on  the  20th  of  July,  after  laborious  operations  which  occupied  his  party  two  months. 

It  was  the  intention  of  Captain  Wilkes  to  survey  minutely  the  Gulf  of  Georgia.  Accordingly, 
as  soon  as  practicable,  he  sent  the  Porpoise,  under  charge  of  Ringgold,  to  Fraser  River  with  direc 
tions  to  sail  from  thence  through  Johnstone's  Strait  around  Vancouver  Island,  while  Wilkes  him 
self  should  explore  the  Haro  Canal.  Both  parties  started  on  the  25th  of  July.  But  these 
operations  were  interrupted  by  the  loss  of  the  Peacock  on  the  bar  of  Columbia  River.  It  became 
necessary  to  proceed  to  that  place  without  delay.  Captain  Ringgold  was  recalled  from  Fraser 
River  to  New  Dungeness  and  Wilkes  hastened  with  his  boats,  having  completed  all  that  "was 
essential  for  the  navigation  of  Canal  De  Haro." 

Both  vessels  took  courses  westward,  surveying  on  the  way  two  small  harbors,  San  Juan,  on 
the  south  side  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  Neeah,  near  Cape  Flattery.  They  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  on  the  7th  of  August,  where  an  English  vessel  was  purchased  to  receive  the  crew 
of  the  wrecked  ship  Peacock.  The  craft  was  named  the  Oregon,  and  needful  arrangements  were 
made  for  continuing  the  objects  of  the  expedition.  Under  Ringgold  the  Vincennes  was  sent  to 
survey  San  Francisco  Bay  and  the  Sacramento  River. 

A  large  land  party  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Emmons  was  sent  to  travel  from  the  Columbia 
along  the  Willamette;  to  examine  also  the  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  Bay;  and  Wilkes,  with 
the  Porpoise,  the  Flying  Fish,  and  the  boats  saved  from  the  wreck  of  the  Peacock,  commenced  the 
survey  of  the  Columbia  on  the  9th  of  August. 

Mr.  Eld  and  his  party  had  left  Nisqnally  on  the  19th  of  July,  and  traveling  through  the 
interior  passed  several  lakes  and  rivers,  mostly  branches  of  the  Chikeeles,  a  tributary  of  Gray's 
Harbor,  where  they  arrived  early  in  August.  The  survey  of  that  vicinity,  by  means  of  boats  and 
the  canoes  of  neighboring  Indians,  was  completed  in  the  course  of  three  weeks.  Lieutenant  Eld 
subsequently  traced  the  coast  southward  to  Cape  Disappointment,  and  passing  Shoalwater  Bay 
in  a  canoe  reached  Baker's  Bay  on  the  last  day  of  August.  His  performance  of  duty  is  specially 
commended  in  the  report  of  Captain  Wilkes.  The  commander  himself  was  employed  on  the 
Columbia  during  August,  September,  and  part  of  October,  and  the  survey  was  carried  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  cataracts.  On  the  10th  of  October,  when  the  operations  were  finished,  Wilkes  crossed 
the  bar  of  the  Columbia  and  sailed  in  the  Porpoise  to  San  Francisco.  The  Flying  Fish  was  at  the 
same  time  ordered  to  examine  the  lower  part  of  Umpquah  River,  but  the  attempt  to  enter  was  not 
successful.  On  the  19tb  of  October  the  Porpoise  reached  Saucelito  Harbor  in  San  Francisco  Bay, 
and  there  the  Vincennes  was  found  at  anchor.  Ringgold  had  arrived  on  the  14th  of  August  and 
surveyed  the  Sacramento  as  far  up  as  Feather  River.  He  had  also  examined  San  Pablo  Bay  and 
the  mouth  of  the  San  Joaqnin.  The  party  under  Mr.  Emmons  arrived  in  San  Francisco  Bay  on 


614  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

the  28th  of  October,  having  followed  and  surveyed  the  trail  from  the  Columbia  Kiver.  Some  of 
the  intervening  rivers  were  seen  and  the  party  examined  the  valleys,  particularly  those  of  the  Elk, 
the  Umpquah,  Rogue,  and  Klauiath  Rivers. 

All  the  exploring  parties  having  returned,  preparations  were  made  for  sailing  from  San 
Francisco  with  the  first  fair  wind.  The  latitude  of  Saucelito  Fort,  where  an  observatory  had  been 
erected,  was  found  to  be  37°  50'  50"  N.,  and  the  longitude,  by  a  series  of  observations  on  moon 
culminating  stars,  122°  25'  36"  west  of  Greenwich.  These  determinations  are  in  tolerable  accord 
with  those  of  Beechey,  and  were  used  provisionally  by  the  oflicers  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey 
at  the  outset  of  their  operations. 

The  exploring  expedition  left  San  Francisco  on  the  1st  of  November,  intending  to  sail  to  the 
Philippines.  Captain  Wilkes  went  south  as  far  as  the  Bay  of  Monterey.  The  Porpoise  was  sent 
with  dispatches  for  Washington,  D.  C.  As  the  principal  hydrographic  results  of  the  expedition 
we  may  point  out  the  examination  and  survey  of  the  lower  reach  of  the  Columbia  River,  the 
survey  of  Gray's  Harbor,  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  Admiralty  Inlet,  and  the-  Haro  Archipelago ;  also 
of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  River.  Close  examinations  were  found  impracticable 
at  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  at  Vancouver  Island,  and  along  the  coast  between  Columbia  River  and 
the  Golden  G<ite,  weather  being  unfavorable. 

OREGON  AND  CALIFORNIA.    1842-1846. 

Capt.  John  Charles  Fremont's  first  expedition  to  the  West,  in  the  year  1842,  was  limited  to 
the,  country  between  the  frontiers  of  Missouri  and  the  South  Pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  along 
the  courses  of  the  Kansas  and  Great  Platte  Rivers.  Subsequently  he  recorded  observations  for 
latitude  and  longitude  from  the  east  across  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  His  western  limit  was 
the  high  peak  which  bears  his  name  on  maps  published  since  that  journey. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  Fremont  again  went  westward,  with  instructions  from  the  Bureau  of 
Topographical  Engineers  "  to  connect  his  reconnaissance  of  1842  with  the  surveys  of  Commander 
Wilkes  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  so  as  to  give  a  connected  survey  through  the  interior  of 
the  North  American  continent." 

Mr.  Fremont  was  accompanied  on  this  expedition  by  an  able  engineer  and  draughtsman,  Mr. 
Charles  Preuss,  and  provided  with  good  instruments  for  determining  geographical  position,  time, 
temperature,  &c.  His  course  was  at  the  outset  directed  toward  Oregon.  In  August,  1843,  he 
reached  the  heads  of  the  south  branch  of  Columbia  River,  and  passed  down  to  Fort  Vancou 
ver,  where  he  arrived  in  November,  and  in  accordance  with  instructions  his  reconnaissance  was 
there  connected  with  the  surveys  of  Captain  Wilkes.  Fremont  was  prevented  by  the  rainy  sea- 
sou  from  going  quite  to  the  Pacific ;  so,  returning  to  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia,  he  passed  from 
thence  southward  into  the  country  along  the  Cascade  range  of  mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada. 
Crossing  the  head  of  the  Klamath  the  party  at  the  close  of  the  year  were  near  the  mountains,  and  cir 
cumstances  constrained  him  to  attempt  to  cross  them  in  midwinter.  Under  many  difficulties  and 
dangers  the  party  in  the  beginning  of  February  reached  the  snowy  peaks,  "  and  saw  from  thence 
below  them,  dimmed  by  the  distance,  a  large  snowless  valley,  bounded  on  the  western  side,  at  the 
distance  of  about  100  miles,  by  a  low  range  of  mountains,  which  were  recognized  as  those  border 
ing  the  coast."  Between  them  and  the  low  coast  range  was  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento.  Soon 
after  water  was  seen  flowing,  towards  the  Pacific,  and  "  a  shining  line  of  water  was  discovered 
directing  its  course  towards  another  broader  and  larger  sheet,"  which  were  "the  Sacramento  and 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco."  In  the  spring  of  the  year  1844  the  party  traveled  from  the  Lower 
Sacramento,  along  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  through  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaqnin. 
Fremont  returned  in  a  northeastern  direction  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  so  again  reached  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi.  His  observations  on  that  part  of  his  route — "from  the  heads  of  the  Sac 
ramento  .to  the  heads  of  the  San  Joaquin,  and  the  valley  which  collects  all  the  waters  of  San  Fran 
cisco  Bay,  proved  that  there  was  no  such  river  as  the  fabulous  Buenaventure,  which  had  beeu  said 
to  come  down  from  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  to  open  a  communication  with  San  Fran 
cisco  Bay,  far  to  the  interior."  He  adds : 

"  This  want  of  interior  communication  from  San  Francisco  Bay,  now  fully  ascertained,  gives 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  615 

great  additional  value  to  the  Columbia,  the  only  great  river  on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  continent 
which  leads  from  the  ocean  to  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  opens  a  line  of  communication  from  the 
sea  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi." 

On  his  third  expedition,  in  1845  and  1846,  Fr6mont  traversed  the  central  parts  of  the  great 
interior  basin,  passed  the  Sierra  Nevada  at  the  southern  end  of  the  range,  crossed  the  San  Joa- 
quiu  Valley,  went  to  the  south  end  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  and  passed  up  the  valley  of  the  Sacra 
mento  to  the  heads  of  that  river  and  to  the  sources  of  the  Klainath.  His  large  map  of  Oregon  and 
Upper  California  was  published  by  order  of  the  United  States  Senate  in  the  year  1848. 

In  reference  to  geographical  positions  Mr.  Fr6tnont  remarks  that  the  line  of  astronomical 
observations  carried  by  him  across  the  continent  reached  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  northern  shore 
of  the  Bay  of  Monterey,  and  that  when  the  newly  established  positions  were  marked  on  the  map 
it  was  found  that  they  carried  the  line  of  coast  about  14  miles  west  of  the  longitudes  given 
by  Vancouver,  and  the  valleys  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  about  20  miles  east  of  the 
longitudes  laid  down  on  former  maps.  Comparison  showed  that  the  positions  agreed  with  the 
observations  of  Captain  Beechy  and  Captain  Belcher,  and  also  with  those  of  the  Spaniard 
Malaspina.  "Vancouver  (says  Fremont)  removed  the  coast  line  as  fixed  by  Malaspina,  and  the 
subsequent  observations  carry  it  back."  That  remark,  however,  needs  qualification.  Coast 
survey  determinations  fix  the  coast  about  midway  between  the  positions  assigned  by  Malaspina 
and  Vancouver. 

MAJ.  W.  H.  EMORY,  U.  S.  CORPS  TOPOGRAPHICAL  ENGINEERS,  1846-M7. 

In  the  year  1846  a  detachment  of  United  States  troops  was  sent  to  operate  in  the  northern 
provinces  of  Mexico  and  California.  As  the  route  was  through  unexplored  regions,  it  was  sug 
gested  that  some  of  the  officers  "  should  be  employed  in  collecting  data  which  would  give  the 
Government  an  idea  of  the  region  traversed."  For  this  purpose  a  party  of  topographical  engineers 
went  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant,  afterwards  Major,  Emory,  with  orders  to  perform  military 
service,  in  case  of  necessity,  under  Colonel  Kearny. 

The  party  was  furnished  with  two  chronometers,  two  Gambey  sextants,  and  other  instruments, 
with  which  astronomical  observations  were  made  between  Saint  Louis,  on  the  Mississippi,  and  San 
Diego,  in  California. 

Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  the  year  1806,  were  the  first  Americansjwho  carried  astronomical  instru 
ments  across  the  Bocky  Mountains  and  connected  that  part  of  the  western  coast  which  lies  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  with  the  Mississippi  region  by  a  chain  of  observations.  And,  as 
previously  stated,  in  the  year  1813  Mr.  Thompson,  astronomer  and  surveyor  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  connected  the  northern  parts  of  the  Columbia  with  the  region  around  Hudson's  Bay. 
In  the  course  of  nearly  three  hundred  years  it  had  been  crossed  by  Coronado  and  by  the  early 
missionaries ;  but  Emory  marked  the  first  well-defined  line  through  those  regions  and  developed 
the  physical  features  of  a  country  until  then  but  little  known.  He  adopted  the  meridian  of  Fort 
Lcavenworth  as  determined  by  Mr.  Nicollet,  and  to  it  referred  all  his  subsequent  determinations 
for  longitude. 

At  the  end  of  June,  1846,  Major  Emory  started  from  Leaveuworth,  carried  on  a  nearly 
uninterrupted  series  of  observations  for  latitude  and  longitude,  and  on  his  route  fixed  the  positions 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  places,  all.  of  them  determined  by  repeated  observations,  and  some, 
when  a  longer  stay  in  camp  permitted,  by  series  of  combined  observations.  At  San  Diego,  where 
he  arrived  in  December,  184G,  his  longitude  determinations  were  compared  with  those  of  Sir 
Edward  Belcher,  and  were  found  nearly  accordant.  All  the  geographical  positions  ascertained  by 
Major  Emory  were  laid  down  on  a  map  which  was  published  in  the  year  1847.  That  officer  also 
recorded  a  series  of  barometrical  observations,  and  these  availed  for  an  approximate  profile  of  the 
ground  surface  along  the  route.  The  altitudes  of  the  "divides"  and  passes  near  the  southern 
section  east  of  San  Diego  were  found  to  be  about  3,000  feet.  Previously  the  heights  had  been 
roughly  estimated  by  mariners  at  a  distance,  merely  from  eye-sight.  Subsequently  Major  Emory 
traced  the  southern  boundary  line  of  the  United  States.  The  initial  point  then  fixed  on  the 


616  UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY. 

Pacific  coast  has  been  adopted,  in  respect  of  the  latitude  and  longitude,  in  the  operations  of  the 
Coast  Survey.  Having  brought  down  the  history  of  development  to  the  inception  of  that  work, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  the  annual  reports  of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Survey. 

Titles  of  copies  of  maps  of  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America  or  parts  thereof. 

[Collected  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Kohl  to  illustrate  his  history  of  discover}-  and  exploration  on  that  coast.] 


Description  of  map. 


Year. 


i 


Maps  of  the  west  coast  before  the  discovery  of  California  or  before  Cortes : 

From  a  manuscript  map  of  the  British  Museum 

Mexico  and  Japan 

Rotz's  Mexico  and  California 

Maps  between  1530  and  1579,  or  from  Cortes  to  Drake  : 

From  a  map  of  Domingo  del  Castillo 

A  Portuguese  map  of  California,  by  J.  Freire 


1530 
1540 
1649 

ir»4i 

1546 
The  coast  of  California,  by  J.  Freire |     1546 


From  the  New  World,  of  T.  Gastaldi 

From  a  map  of  Bologuini  Zaltieri 

Mexico  and  California,  by  Diego  Hoinem. 


1560 
1566 
1568 

California,  from  a  map  of  Juan  Martines 1578 

Maps  of  the  Northwest  coast  between  1579  and  1697,  or  from  Drake  to  the  Jesuits  : 

From  a  map  of  California,  by  M.  Lock j     1582 

From  a  map  of  Molineux i     1592 

From  a  map  of  C.  de  Judaeis 1593 

From  the  great  map  of  the  world  of  Hakluy t '     1598 

'  i  1602 
1603 

1C56 
1691 


Map  of  the  discoveries  of  Viscaiuo 

California,  by  Sanson , 

The  Californian  Gulf,  by  Coronelli •- 

Map  of   Western  America  and  Eastern  Asia,   or  "  The  Country  of  Yesso,"  by  the  Dutch  geographer 
Lugteuberg 

Maps  of  the  period  between  1697  and  1769,  or  from  the  Jesuits  to  the  Franciscans : 
Map  of  the  discoveries  of  Father  Kino 

• 

From  a  map  of  the  River  of  the  West  by  Bellin 

Map  of  the  supposed  discoveries  of  Do  Fonte,  by  P.  Buache , 

A  Spanish  map  takeu  by  Anson  in 


and  published  by  Venegas  in. 


Copy  of  the  same  map  as  published  according  to  act  of  Parliament,  by  Jefferys  in 

From  a  map  published  by  the  Academy  of  St.  Petersburg 

From  ;i  map  of  California  by  Don  Antonio  Alzate 

[NOTE. — With  reference  to  this  map,  Dr.  Kohl  observes  that  it  may  servo  to  show  the  knowledge  of  the 
West  coast  which  the  Mexicans  in  general  possessed  of  it  just  before  the  discoveries  of  the  Franciscan 
friars.  ] 

The  Northwest  coast,  from  a  map  of  J.  N.  Buache  after  Engel  and  Vaugondy 

Maps  and  charts  between  the  years  1768  and  1794,  or  from  the  first  voyages  and  travels  of  the  Francis 
can  friars  to  Vancouver : 

Chart  of  Upper  California,  by  Miguel  Constanso 

Copy  of  a  map  of  the  North  west  coast  which  was  constructed  after  the  expedition  of  Heceta  and  Bodega.. 
Ma]>  showing  result  N  of  combined  sea  aud  land  expedition  round  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  under  Qninis 

and  Moraga  ;  also  the  route  of  Father  Jnnipero  Serra 

[NOTE. — Dr.  Kohl  observes  that  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  this  map  is  that  it  is  tlie  first 
which  shows  the  whole  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.] 


1706 


1698 
1701 

1748 
1750 
1743 
1757 
1753 
1756 
1772 


1775 


1770 
177.') 

177C) 
1777 


UNITED  STATES  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY.  617 

Title*  of  copies  of  maps  of  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America  or  parts  thereof—  Continued. 


Description  of  map. 


Year. 


4 
5 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

11 
12 

13 
14 
15 
16 

17 

18 
19 

20 
21 


22 

I 

II 
III 

IV 
V 

VI 
VII 


From  Cook's  map  of  the  northwest  coast 

From  a  map  of  the  English  geographer  Barringtou,  on  which  are  combined  the  discoveries  of  the 
Russians,  of  Bodega,  and  of  Cook , 

From  a  map  by  M.  A.  Mascaro,  showing  discoveries  and  travels  in  the  interior  of  California 

From  a  map  of  the  survey  and  voyage  of  La  P<5rouse 

From  a  Mexican  chart,  showing  the  settlements  and  travels  of  the  Franciscan  missionaries 

Part  of  Dixou's  map  of  the  northwest,  showing  his  discoveries  to  the  north  of  Vancouver  Island 

From  a  chart  made  by  Captain  Meares,  showing  his  discoveries  on  the  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  and 
of  Washington  and  Oregon  Territories '.. 

From  another  chart  of  Captain  Meares , 

De  la  Borde's  map  of  comparison,  combining  and  comparing  the  surveys -of  Cook  (1778),  La  P6rouse 
(1780),  Dixou(17S7),  and  of  Meares  (1789) 

From  the  map  of  Captain  Marchand 

From  a  general  chart  composed  by  Don  Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega 

Map  of  Vancouver  Island,  by  Captain  Ingraham 

From  a  map  of  the  coast  of  California  and  Oregon  by  Ingraham,  from  data  supplied  by  Captain  Gray  . .. 

From  a  map  showing  Vancouver's  discoveries  on  the  northwest  coast 

Quadra  and  Vancouver  Island,  after  Vancouver 

Vancouver  Island,  after  Galiauo  and  Valdes 

From  Vancouver's  survey  of  the  whole  coast  of  New  Albion,  or  Upper  California 

California,  from  a  chart  of  Galiano  and  Valdos 


1778 
1779 


1780 

1782 

1786 
1787 
1787 

1790 
1790 

1792 
1792 
1791 
1792 
1792 

1792 
1794 

1792 
1792 

1792 
1794 

1802 


MAPS  FROM  1794  TO  1850. 


1795 
1829 
1837 


"Entrada  de  Juan  de  Fuoa,"  from  a  Spanish  admiralty  chart 

California,  from  Tanner's  map 

Map  showing  the  extent  of  Captain  Belcher's  surveys  on  the  west  coast 

Map  of  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras,  showing  the  routes  of  the  Canadian  trappers  and  hunters  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  River  to  the  Sacramento 

Map  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  under  Captain  Wilkes,  U.  8.  N 

From  a  map  published  by  De  Mofras  in  his  atlas,  showing  the  coast  from  Bodega  Harbor  northward,  as 
derived  from  Russian  sources ...  I  1840 


1839 

1844 
1841 


Copy  of  Greenhow's  map  of  the  west  coast 

Copy  of  a  map  of  part  of  the  west  coast,  made  by  Lieut.  W.  P.  McArthur,  U.  S.  N.,  Assistant,  Coast  Survey. 


1844 
1850 


[NOTK. — Accompanying  the  collection  of  maps  above  enumerated  is  a  general  map,  compiled  by  Dr.  Kohl,  and 
similar  in  character  to  those  compiled  by  him  for  the  coasts  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  of  Mexico.] 

H.  Ex.  43 78 


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